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[ORBEN  FUND  BOOK  No.  8.](*  DEC  26   1911 

THE  LORD'S  DAY: 


ITS  UNIVERSAL  AND  PERPETUAL  OBLIGATION. 

A  PEEMIUM  ESSAY. 

A.     E.     WAFFLE,     M.A. 

SECOND    EDITION. 


The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man.  .  .  . 
I  was  in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day. 

—New  Testament, 


philadelphia: 
The    American    Sunday-School    Union, 

No.   1122   Chestnut  Street. 


All  rights  reserved. 


COPYRIGHT,   1885, 
BY  THE  AMERICAN   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   UNION. 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED. 


THE  JOHN  C.  GREEN  FUND  BOOKS. 


This  volume  has  been  prepared  and  issued  under  the 
provisions  of  the  John  C.  Green  Income  Fund.  The  fund 
was  founded  in  1877,  by  Kobert  Lenox  Kennedy,  on  behalf 
of  the  residuary  legatees  of  John  C.  Green.  Among  other 
things,  it  is  provided  by  the  deeds  of  gift  and  of  trust  that 
one  sixth  of  the  net  interest  and  income  of  this  fund  shall 
be  set  aside,  and  whenever  the  same  shall  amount  to  one 
thousand  dollars,  the  Board  of  Officers  and  Managers  of 
the  American  Sunday-School  Union  shall  apply  the  income 
"  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  them  in  securing  a  Sunday- 
school  literature  of  the  highest  order  of  merit."  This  may 
be  done  "  either  by  procuring  works  upon  a  given  subject 
germane  to  the  objects  of  the  society,  to  be  written  or  com- 
piled by  authors  of  established  reputation  and  known 
ability,  ...  or  by  offering  premiums  for  manuscripts 
suitable  for  publication  by  said  Union,  in  accordance  with 
the  purposes  and  objects  of  its  institution,  ...  in  such 
form  and  manner  as  the  Board  of  Officers  and  Managers 
may  determine." 

The  premium  plan  is  to  be  followed  at  least  once  out  of 
every  three  times. 

It  is  further  required  that  the  manuscripts  procured 
under  this  fund  shall  become  the  exclusive  property  of 
the  American  Sunday-School  Union,  with  no  charge  for 
copyright  to  purchasers  of  the  book,  it  being  the  intention 
of  the  trust  to  reduce  the  selling  price  of  works  issued 
under  the  provisions  of  the  fund. 


PUBLISHER'S  PREFACE. 


The  Christian  Sabbath  is  one  of  the  most  important 
institutions  of  the  Christian  religion.  What  we  are  going 
to  do  with  it  is  a  foremost  question  of  our  day.  It  was 
therefore  selected  as  the  subject  for  a  premium  book, 
under  the  conditions  of  the  John  C.  Green  Fund.  In 
conformity  with  the  trust  creating  that  fund,  the  society 
published  the  following  offer  in  July,  1883 : 

ONE  THOUSAND  DOLLAES  PKEMIUM. 

The  American  Sunday-School  Union  offers  a  premium  of  one 
THOUSAND  DOLLAKS  for  the  best  book,  written  for  the  society,  upon 

THE   OBLIGATIONS   AND   ADVANTAGES   OF   THE  DAY   OF  REST. 

The  book  must  be  popular  in  character,  of  a  "high  order  of 
merit,"  and  consist  of  not  less  than  60,000  nor  more  than  100,000 
words. 

The  treatise  may  be  descriptive,  narrative,  expository  or  didactic. 
The  obligations  of  the  Sabbath  may  be  based  upon  historical,  phys- 
ical and  scriptural  grounds,  and  its  advantages  urged  upon  physi- 
cal, economical,  spiritual  or  other  considerations.  Each  author  may 
also  suggest  any  appropriate  title  for  his  work. 

The  manuscripts  must  be  submitted  to  the  Committee  of  Publi- 
cation on  or  before  October  1,  1884.  Each  manuscript  should  have 
a  special  mark,  and  the  name  and  address  of  the  author  be  sent  at 
the  same  time  in  a  sealed  envelope  bearing  the  same  mark,  and  both 
addressed,  post  or  express  prepaid,  to  the  American  Sunday-School 
Union,  1122  Chestnut  Street,  Philadelphia. 

The  manuscript  approved  by  the  Committee  is  to  be  the  exclusive 
property  of  the  Union,  and  the  premium  will  be  paid  when  the 
copyright  of  the  same  is  secured  by  the  society. 

vii 


viii  Publishers  Preface. 

The  society  reserves  the  right  to  decline  any  and  all  manuscripts 
offered,  if  unsuitable  for  its  purpose. 

Unaccepted  manuscripts  will  be  returned  to  the  writers  at  their 
expense. 

This  premium  is  offered  in  accordance  with  the  terms  and  con- 
ditions of  the  John  C.  Green  Trust. 

The  manuscripts  received  in  response  to  this  offer  were 
numbered  in  the  order  of  their  reception.  Each  sealed 
envelope  containing  the  name  of  the  author  was  given  the 
same  number  as  its  accompanying  manuscript.  After  a 
painstaking  and  protracted  examination  of  the  numerous 
essays,  the  Committee  of  Publication  recommended  that  the 
premium  be  awarded  to  manuscript  "  No.  8,"  and  this  was 
approved  by  the  Board.  The  essay  was  found  to  be  by 
A.  E.  "Waffle,  then  Professor  of  Khetoric  and  English 
Literature  in  Lewisburg  University,  Lewisburg,  Pa. 

The  treatise  clearly  presents  the  argument  for  a  weekly 
rest,  as  grounded  in  the  nature  of  things,  in  the  nature  of 
man,  and  in  the  word  of  God.  With  the  exception  of 
some  slight  revision,  and  the  insertion  of  a  few  additional 
facts  in  further  illustration  of  some  phases  of  the  argu- 
ment, the  treatise  is  presented  to  the  public  as  originally 
submitted  by  the  author. 

The  society  trusts  the  work  will  aid  in  promoting  a  better 
knowledge  of  the  authority  and  necessity  for  a  weekly  rest, 
and  a  more  reverent  use  of  the  Lord's  day,  thus  accomplish- 
ing the  purpose  of  the  generous  founder  of  the  fund  under 
which  the  book  has  been  secured. 


CONTENTS  AND  ANALYSIS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

THE  STATE   OF  THE  QUESTION. 

PAGE 

An  important  question — A  living  question — Increase  of 
Sabbath  desecration — Inadequate  means  of  counteract- 
ing— Friends  of  the  Sabbath  divided — Different  grounds 
of  Sabbath  observance — Sabbatarian,  Antinomian,  Ec- 
clesiastical, Dominical,  Humanitarian  and  Christian 
Sabbath — A  better  doctrine  of  the  Sabbath  needed — 
Purpose  and  plan  of  this  work,       ,        ,        ,        ,        ,17 

PART  I. 

NECESSITY    OF    THE   SABBATH. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE   ARGUMENT   STATED. 

God  gives  what  we  really  need — Proved  and  illustrated — 
Its  necessity  tests  the  divinity  of  an  institution — Neces- 
sity of  the  Sabbath  presumptive  proof  of  its  divine 
origin — Also  of  its  universal  and  perpetual  obligation — 
The  hypothesis  to  be  established, 35 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  SABBATH  NECESSARY  TO   MAN'S  PHYSICAL  WELFARE. 

Importance  of  physical  health  and  vigor — To  the  individ- 
ual— To  the  race — Necessity  of  labor — Waste  and  re- 
pair— Need  of  rest — The  general  law  of  periodicity — 
Applies  especially  to  man — He  needs  days  of  rest — The 
right  proportion — Proof  from  nature — The  testimony 
of   physicians — Proof   from   experience — Various  ex- 

ix 


X  Contents  and  Analysis, 

amples — The  Jews  in  Europe — Proof  from  the  use  of 
domestic  animals — Man  more  than  an  animal — Con- 
clusion,     45 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  SABBATH  NECESSARY   TO   MAN'S  INTELLECTUAL 
WELFARE. 

The  greatness  of  mind — Its  relations  to  human  progress — 
All  minds  should  be  cultivated — Uninterrupted  manual 
labor  dwarfs  the  mind — Time  and  strength  needed  for 
its  cultivation— These  afforded  by  the  Sabbath — Intel- 
lectual advantages  of— Necessary  to  all  classes — Illus- 
trations— Conclusion, 71 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    SABBATH   NECESSARY  TO  MAN'S   MORAL  AND 
RELIGIOUS  WELFARE. 

Man  a  religious  being — Religion  essential  to  manhood — 
Man  a  moral  being — Relation  of  religion  and  morals— 
They  are  inseparable— The  religious  feeling  man's  chief 
glory  —  Necessity  for  religious  training  —  Impossible 
without  the  Sabbath — Its  suggestions — Necessary  for 
public  worship — The  real  source  of  its  value — Necessary 
for  instruction  in  morals — Conclusion,   .        .        .        .82 

CHAPTER  V. 

THE  SABBATH   NECESSARY  TO  MAN'S  SOCIAL  WELFARE. 

Man  a  social  being — Relation  of  the  Sabbath  to  his  social 
welfare — It  promotes  cleanliness— It  humanizes— The 
Sabbath  and  the  family— The  Sabbath  and  class  dis- 
tinctions—The Sabbath  and  the  "labor  question" — 
-  A  boon  to  workingmen — How  to  preserve  it — The  Sab- 
bath and  social  duties — The  Sabbath  and  communities — 
Illustration— The  Sabbath  and  nations— The  weekly 
rest-day  promotes  prosperity — Testimony — Conclusion 
of  the  argument, 97 


Contents  and  Analysis.  xi 

PAKT  II. 

THE  SABBATH  OF  THE  BIBLE  WAS  MADE  FOR 
ALL  MEN. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

EARLY  INSTITUTION  OF  THE  SABBATH. 

A  change  in  the  line  of  proof — The  Edenic  establishment 
of  the  Sabbath  proves  its  universality — Paley's  opinion 
— The  correct  interpretation  of  Gen.  2  : 1-3 — Absence 
of  later  mention  not  a  valid  objection — References  to 
the  week  in  Genesis — The  week  and  the  Sabbath  among 
ancient  nations — The  Chinese — The  Assyrians — Other 
nations — The  great  antiquity  of  the  week — Sacredness 
of  the  number  seven — Explanation  of  these  facts — The 
Sabbath  in  the  wilderness — Not  then  first  established — 
Proved  from  the  record — The  terms  of  the  fourth  com- 
mandment— The  Sabbath  not  a  purely  Jewish  institution 
because  commemorating  events  in  Jewish  history — The 
nature  of  this  early  Sabbath, 115 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  COMMAND  TO  KEEP  THE  SABBATH  A  PART  OP 
THE  MORAL  LAW. 

A  disputed  proposition — Positive  and  moral  precepts  of  the 
law — The  fourth  commandment  moral  though  it  has 
positive  elements — An  integral  part  of  the  decalogue — 
Founded  in  the  nature  of  things — Necessary  to  the  per- 
formance of  the  highest  duties — Involves  severe  pen- 
alties— Made  important  by  the  teachers  of  Israel — If 
moral  it  is  for  all  men, 137 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  LAW  OF  THE  SABBATH  HAS  NEVER  BEEN  REPEALED. 

Its  entire  repeal  asserted  by  many — Hessey,  Robertson, 
Bacon  and  others — Who  has  repealed  it?— Christ  did 


xii  Contents  and  Anali/sis. 

not — Needless  to  re-enact  it — He  corrected  its  abuses^ 
This  shows  his  intention  to  retain  it — The  Sabbath  for 
all  men — His  words  contain  no  repeal  of  it — His  actions 
indicate  none — The  apostles  did  not  repeal  it — Their 
teaching  on  the  subject  of  the  law — How  Christians  are 
free  from  it — Still  binding  as  a  rule  of  conduct — Paul 
writes  against  Judaizers,  not  against  Sabbath -keepers — 
Proof  of  this— Examination  of  Gal.  4  :  9-11 ;  Eom. 
14:5,6;  Col.  2  .  16,  17, 157 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH-DAY. 

A  troublesome  question — Must  we  keep  Saturday? — The 
change  of  day — The  authority  for  it — The  teaching  and 
example  of  the  apostles— The  change  gradual — Reasons 
for  the  change — What  influenced  the  apostles — The  res- 
urrection of  Christ — His  epiphanies — The  Pentecostal 
baptism — All  these  on  Sunday — History  of  the  change 
—Teaching  of  Paul, 184 

CHAPTER  X. 

THE   CHRISTIAN  SABBATH-DAY. — CONTINUED, 

Post-apostoiic  testimony — Its  value — An  appeal  to  the 
Fathers — "Epistle  of  Barnabas"  — Pliny's  Letter  — 
"  Teaching  of  the  Apostles  "—Justin  Martyr— Irenaeus 
— Tertullian — All  this  testimony  of  one  kind — Sunday 
kept  holy  by  the  early  Christians — Seventh  -day  Sabbath 
disregarded — The  change  not  fatal  to  the  institution — 
The  terms  of  the  commandment — The  primitive  Sab- 
bath— The  purpose  of  the  Sabbath  equally  served — 
Hebrew  testimony — We  may  accept  the  change,    ,  203 


Contents  and  Analysis.  xiii 

PART  III. 

NATURE  AND  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 

CHAPTEE  XI. 

grotjnds  of  the  obligation  to  keep  the 
lord's  day. 

Review — Why  keep  the  Lord's  day? — Various  reasons 
given — Alford's  reasons — Their  inadequacy — The  view 
of  Luther  and  his  fellow  reformers — Bad  results  in 
Europe — George  B.  Bacon  bases  the  obligation  on  love 
— Why  inadequate — The  Dominical  view  as  presented 
by  Hessey — These  men  favor  a  Sabbath— The  Anti- 
nomian  doctrine — Would  destroy  the  Sabbath — Heng- 
stenberg's  reply — The  true  ground  the  law  of  God — His 
laws  not  arbitrary — Obedience  not  legalism,  .        .        .  227 

CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  JEWISH   SABBATH. 

Nature  of  the  Sabbath  should  be  understood — Importance 
of  Jewish  Sabbath  indicated — By  the  manifestations 
which  accompanied  the  promulgation  of  the  Decalogue 
— By  the  form  of  the  commandment — By  the  events 
with  which  it  was  associated — By  the  many  repetitions 
of  the  command — By  its  penalty — By  the  emphasis 
placed  upon  it  by  the  prophets  and  reformers — The 
Sabbath  as  a  day  of  rest — A  great  privilege — Its  typical 
significance — Relations  to  the  religious  life  of  the 
Hebrews — Reminded  them  of  Jehovah — Used  for  in- 
struction— A  day  of  worship — Nature  of  the  Jewish  - 
Sabbath — A  religious  day — Also  a  day  of  rest  and  glad- 
ness— Yet  made  obligatory, 253 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   lord's   day. 

Abuses  of  Jewish  Sabbath — Puerile  rules— Christ  freed  it 
from  these  abuses — The  true  Sabbath — A  day  of  Chris- 


xiv  Contents  and  Analysis. 

tian  activity — Yet  a  day  of  rest — The  best  type  of 
heaven — Apostolic  view  of  the  Sabbath — Christians 
have  less  restraint  than  the  Jews — The  death-penalty 
abolished — Without  affecting  the  command — Jewish 
and  Christian  Sabbaths  contrasted — The  Lord's  day 
peculiarly  Christian, 284 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  PROPER  METHOD   OF  OBSERVING  THE  LORD'S   DAY. 

General  principles — Things  prohibited — Labor  for  gain — 
Labor  for  any  worldly  end— The  pursuit  of  worldly 
pleasure — Sunday  excursions — An  irreligious  use  of  the 
day — Depriving  others  of  their  Sabbath — Things  allow- 
able— Works  of  necessity — What  is  necessary  work  ? — 
False  pretences — Sunday  newspapers — Sunday  railroad- 
ing— Sunday  mails — Work  connected  with  public  wor- 
ship— Necessary  rest  and  recreation — Things  required 
— Public  worship — Religious  work — Sunday  in  the 
family — What  to  do  with  the  children — Works  of  mercy 
— Religious  reading  and  meditation,      ....  310 

CHAPTER  XV. 

OUR  OBLIGATIONS   RESPECTING  THE   LORD'S   DAY. 

Nature  of  the  institution — It  must  be  maintained — A  duty 
to  God — A  duty  to  our  fellow  men— A  duty  to  our- 
selves— A  duty  to  our  families — A  duty  to  our  country 
— Sunday  laws — Their  justice  and  propriety — Necessary 
to  protect  the  Sabbath  and  Sabbath-keepers — Desired 
by  the  majority — Not  inconsistent  with  liberty — Not 
legislation  on  religion — The  Sabbath  necessary  to  the 
welfare  of  the  state — Necessary  to  free  government — 
God  blesses  Sabbath-keeping  nations,     ....  357 


Contents  and  Analysis.  xv 

APPENDIX. 

A.— The  Literature  of  the  Subject, 393 

B. — Diagram  and  Explanation,  showing  effects  of  contin- 
uous labor,  and  of  a  weekly  rest,  on  the  human 

system, 397 

C. — Scriptural  Passages  Eelating  to  the  Sabbath,  .  .  398 
D. — Abstract  of  Sunday  Laws  in  the  United  States,  .  .  408 
E. — Eeport  for  1885  of  Massachusetts  Labor  Bureau  on 

"Sunday  Labor," 410 

F. — Practical    Suggestions  :    Negative    Duties  —  Positive 

Duties, 412 


THE  LORD'S  DAY: 
ITS  UNIVERSAL  AND  PERPETUAL  OBLIGATION. 


INTRODUCTION. 

THE    STATE    OF    THE    QUESTION. 

The  Sabbath  Question  is  one  of  the  great 
living  questions  of  our  day.  Stated  in  its  sim- 
plest and  briefest  form  it  is,  Shall  men  work 
seven  days  in  a  week,  occasionally  using  a  day 
for  play  and  recreation,  as  may  be  necessary,  or 
shall  one  day  in  seven  be  set  apart  for  rest  and 
religious  purposes  ?  It  is  certainly  an  important 
question.  If  it  involved  no  more  than  the  use 
which  men  should  make  of  one  seventh  of  their 
time,  it  would  be  of  great  moment.  To  ask  men 
to  withdraw  from  their  ordinary  avocations  for 
such  a  proportion  of  their  time,  and  devote  it  to 
specific  purposes,  is  no  small  demand,  and  one 
which  ought  not  to  be  made  without  good  rea- 
sons. Can  such  reasons  be  discovered  and  pre- 
sented? Would  men  be  just  as  well  off,  or 
better    off,    without   a   weekly    Sabbath?      Are 

2  (1) 


18  TJie  Lord's  Day. 

they,  by  its  observance,  depriving  themselves 
of  time  that,  used  in  other  ways,  would  add 
one  seventh  to  the  productiveness  of  their  labor, 
and  so  accelerate  the  progress  of  the  race  ?  Or 
would  they  save  this  time  for  industrial  pur- 
suits at  the  expense  of  benefits  infinitely  more 
valuable  ? 

The  Sabbath  bases  its  claim  for  recognition 
upon  two  grounds  :  first,  that  it  is  necessary  to 
the  welfare  of  man ;  second,  that  its  observance 
is  commanded  in  the  law  of  God.  It  denies  that 
the  divine  command  which  requires  its  observ- 
ance is  arbitrary ;  but  asserts  that  it  is  founded 
upon  the  nature  of  things.  Can  this  two-fold 
claim  be  made  good  ?  Either  the  Sabbath  in- 
volves a  mere  waste  of  time,  or  it  is  an  institu- 
tion without  which  men  will  become  godless, 
morally  and  intellectually  degraded,  and  physic- 
ally enervated.     Which  is  the  true  alternative  ? 

The  question  is  of  such  transcendent  import- 
ance that  every  intelligent  human  being  is  bound 
to  give  it  careful  and  patient  consideration. 
Since  the  assumption  is  that  the  Sabbath  is 
vitally  related  to  the  best  interests  of  the  indi- 
vidual and  of  the  race,  every  man  should  be  able 
to  give  an  answer  to  the  questions  here  pro- 
pounded. He  must  answer  them  in  one  way  or 
another ;  for  though  he  may  not  be  able  to  give  a 

(2) 


The  Stale  of  the  Quedlon.  1<) 

good  reason  for  his  course  in  life,  his  conduct  will 
be  a  practical  answer  to  them.  But  the  subject 
is  so  important  that  no  man  should  decide  to 
neglect  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  until  he 
has  examined  it  in  all  its  bearings. 

The  Sabbath  question  is  always  a  living  ques- 
tion, for  in  its  practical  form  it  is  always  before 
us.     In  this  country,  at  the  present  time,  it  is 
assuming  an  unusual  degree  of  prominence.     As 
a  nation  we  have  not  yet  passed  the  formative 
period.     Many  things  are  yet  to  be  determined 
before  our  national  character  will  be  fixed.    Many 
questions   are   constantly   presenting  themselves 
for  the  decision  of  our  people.    Matters  that  once 
seemed  settled  are  again  disturbed  by  the  influ- 
ence   of  the    foreign  additions    to    our    rapidly- 
growing   population.      New    conditions   are   con- 
stantly arising  to  which  it  is  demanded  that  we 
shall  adjust  our  institutions.     Among  the  ques- 
tions thus  reopened  is  the  Sabbath  question.     It 
was  once  understood  to  be  a  settled  thing  that 
the  Lord's  day  would  be  sacredly  observed  by  all 
our    people,  except   the    depraved    and    morally 
reckless.     But  that  is  no  longer  the   case.     To 
say  the  least,  the  question  is  now  an  open  one, 
whether  we   shall  have  a   Sabbath,  or   whether 
Sunday  shall  be  a  mere  holiday  when  it  is  not 
devoted,  like   the    other  days    of  the   week,  to 

(3) 


20  The  LonVs  Dmj. 

secular  toil.  There  is  some  danger  that  the 
question  will  receive  a  practical  answer  over 
which  all  good  men  would  lament.  Is  not  the 
recent  action  of  California  in  repealing  its  Sunday 
laws  indicative  of  a  change  in  the  opinions  and 
practices  of  the  American  people  in  respect  to 
the  Sabbath  ?  It  is  certain  that  the  relative 
amount  of  work  done  on  Sunday  in  this  country 
is  constantly  increasing,  while  the  disregard  of 
the  Sabbath  by  pleasure-seekers  is  one  of  the 
most  striking  features  of  our  times.  The  increase 
of  labor  is  especially  noticeable  in  the  cases  of 
railways  and  steamboats,  Sunday  newspapers  and 
Sunday  mails ;  but  it  may  be  seen  in  other  lines 
of  industry. 

Says  Dr.  W.  W.  Atterbury,  secretary  of  the 
Sabbath  Association  of  New  York  city :  "  With 
the  immense  extension  of  our  railway  systems, 
Sunday  labor  is  increasing  at  a  rapid  pace."  Most 
of  the  railroads  run  a  large  number  of  Sunday 
trains.  Of  the  half  million  men  employed  by  the 
railroad  companies,  a  large  proportion  are  obliged 
to  work  on  Sunday  or  lose  their  places.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  horse-car  companies  in  the 
cities,  and  of  the  companies  that  run  steamboats 
upon  our  rivers  and  along  our  coasts.  The  great 
daily  newspapers,  with  a  few  exceptions,  issue  a 
Sunday  edition,  which  is  sent  over  the  country 
(4) 


The  State  of  the  Question.  21 

on  the  morning  of  the  Lord's  dajy  and  eagerly 
bought  and  read  by  the  people  who  are  unwilling 
to  let  one  day  pass  without  learning  the  news. 
A  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  such  a  thing  as  a 
Sunday  newspaper  had  scarcely  been  heard  of. 

In  some  of  our  large  cities — notably  in  Chicago, 
Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  San  Francisco  and  other 
cities  of  the  West  and  Southwest — liquor-saloons, 
restaurants,  groceries  and  retail  stores  of  every 
description  are  open  on  Sunday  in  large  numbers, 
some  of  them  all  day  and  others  until  noon. 
For  every  person  who  thus  sells  on  Sunday  there 
must  be  a  large  number  who  buy.  In  the  deliv- 
ery of  milk,  bread,  meat,  ice  and  other  articles  of 
domestic  consumption,  Sunday  differs  little  from 
any  other  day  of  the  week.  Many  theatres  and 
other  places  of  amusement  are  open  on  the  Lord's 
day,  and  are  largely  patronized.  Excursions, 
parades  and  secular  concerts  occur  more  fre- 
quently on  Sunday  than  on  other  days. 

The  state  of  things  is  somewhat  better  in  the 
eastern  cities ;  a  large  majority  of  the  people  in 
Philadelphia,  Boston,  Baltimore,  Brooklyn  and 
New  York  still  observe  the  Sabbath ;  but  even 
here  the  number  of  those  who  violate  it  in  pleas- 
ure-seeking or  in  secular  labor  and  business  is 
evidently  increasing.  In  summer,  from  the  towns 
and  cities  immense  excursions  go  out  every  Sun- 

(5) 


22  The  Lord's  Day. 

day  for  a  picnic  or  a  holiday  at  some  favorite 
place  of  resort.  In  some  cases  not  less  than  one 
tenth  of  the  population  are  absent  from  home  on 
Sunday  for  this  purpose.  Persons  who  a  few 
years  ago  would  have  been  ashamed  to  be  seen 
in  company  bent  on  such  an  errand  now  spend 
almost  every  Sunday  in  this  manner.  On  a 
pleasant  Sunday  afternoon  the  popular  drives  in 
almost  any  of  our  towns  will  be  thronged  with 
the  turn-outs  of  those  who  are  riding  for  pleasure. 
Walking  to  church  one  Sunday  evening,  in  a 
thrifty  western  city,  the  writer  saw  more  than 
ten  times  as  many  people  thus  engaged  as  he 
afterwards  saw  in  the  largest  church  in  the  place, 
and  he  has  reason  to  fear  that  among  them  were 
not  a  few  church  members.  He  was  told  that  the 
practice  is  very  common  in  the  West,  and  it  is 
certainly  not  unknown  in  the  East.  In  many  of 
the  rural  districts  horse-racing,  driving,  hunting, 
fishing,  ball-playing  and  other  out-of-door  sports 
and  games  on  the  Lord's  day  are  not  uncommon. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  discuss  here  the  moral 
quality  of  these  practices.  We  mention  them  as 
signs  that  a  day  once  held  sacred  in  this  country 
is  fast  losing  that  character  in  the  minds  of  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  population.  It  must 
certainly  be  true  that  persons  who  use  Sunday  in 
this  way  do  not  regard  it  as  a  holy  day.  For 
(6) 


The  State  of  the  Question.  23 

them  there  is  no  longer  any  Sabbath.  And  the 
danger  is  that  their  sentiments  will  be  shared  by 
an  increasing  number  of  our  people.  The  tend- 
ency to  imitate  others  is  strong  in  us  all.  It  is 
not  easy  to  be  better  than  our  neighbors.  When 
a  thing  which  promises  pleasure  or  profit  ceases 
to  be  disreputable,  one  must  have  strong  principles 
to  abstain  from  indulging  in  it.  Moreover,  such 
is  the  depravity  of  the  human  heart  that  it  is  far 
easier  to  corrupt  and  degrade  a  people  than  it  is 
to  purify  and  elevate  them.  As  Virgil  has  it, 
"The  descent  to  hell  is  easy,  .  .  .  but  to  recall 
your  steps,  and  reascend  to  the  upper  air,  this  is 
labor,  this  is  work."*  Thus  we  are  in  danger  of 
becoming  a  nation  without  a  Sabbath. 

We  cannot  stop  here  to  discuss  the  various 
means  which  are  used  to  counteract  this  tendency. 
As  we  have  opened  our  ears  to  the  multitudinous 
voices  that  come  to  us  from  the  different  classes 
of  our  people,  it  has  seemed  that  the  protests 
against  the  destruction  of  the  Sabbath  grow 
feebler  and  feebler.  It  may  be  that  the  protest 
of  the  Church  is  becoming  more  vigorous  as  the 
danger  increases ;  but  that  protest  does  not  have 
its  proper  effect,  because  the  trumpet  which  raises 


*  Facilis  descensus  Averno  ;  .  .  . 
Sed  revocare  gradum,  superasque  evadere  ad  auras, 
Hoc  opusj  hie  labor  est. — ^d.  vi.  1.  126,  sq. 

(7) 


24  The  Lord's  Day. 

the  note  of  warning  gives  an  "  uncertain  sound." 
To  say  nothing  of  the  inconsistent  practices  of 
those  who  profess  to  have  a  high  regard  for  the 
sacredness  of  the  Lord's  day,  there  is  such  a 
variety  of  opinions  concerning  the  reasons  for 
observing  it  that  men  are  in  doubt  whether  it 
rests  upon  any  solid  foundation.  When  Christian 
teachers  disagree  on  any  point  of  doctrine,  it  is 
natural  for  the  indifferent  to  say  that  no  plain 
revelation  has  been  made  on  the  subject  of  dis- 
pute, and  that,  therefore,  it  has  small  claim  to 
their  attention. 

It  would  not  be  profitable,  even  if  it  were  pos- 
sible with  our  limited  space,  to  review  the  con- 
troversies on  the  Sabbath  question  which  have 
occurred  in  this  country.  It  has  been  a  subject 
of  discussion  among  Protestants  ever  since  the 
Reformation.  Until  a  comparatively  recent 
period  these  controversies  were  confined  to 
Europe,  while  there  was  a  general  agreement 
among  American  Protestants.  But  within  a  few 
years,  several  of  the  conflicting  opinions  held  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic  have  found  advo- 
cates among  us.  All  we  undertake  here  is  to 
state  in  the  briefest  possible  form  the  most  import- 
ant of  these  views.  We  consider  only  the  opin- 
ions of  those  persons  who  believe  in  God,  in  the 
Bible  and  in  the  absolute  supremacy  of  the  divine 

(8) 


The  State  of  the  Question.  25 

law.  Men  and  women  who  have  no  regard  for 
the  law  of  God — who  would  not  keep  sacred  the 
Lord's  day  if  they  knew  that  God  had  commanded 
it — are  objects  of  pity,  and  all  Christians  should 
labor  and  pray  for  their  salvation;  but  their 
opinion  of  the  Sabbath  is  of  no  weight,  and  need 
not  trouble  us.  Until  a  man  recognizes  the  fact 
that  the  commands  of  God  must  be  obeyed,  he  is 
not  entitled  to  speak  on  a  question  like  this.  If 
he  does  speak,  liis  voice  should  be  heard  as  the 
voice  of  an  enemy  who  would  destroy  every 
divine  institution.  It  is  worse  than  folly  for  us 
to  be  influenced  in  this  matter  by  the  theories  or 
desires  of  foreigners  who  have  brought  from 
Europe  ecclesiastical  or  papal  notions  of  the 
Lord's  day,  or  by  those  of  blatant  infidels  and 
free-thinkers,  who  hate  everything  which  reminds 
them  of  God  and  of  their  obligations  to  him. 
But  when  honest  and  intelligent  Christian  men 
present  their  views  of  the  Sabbath,  we  are  bound 
to  give  them  attention  and  to  discover  if  possible 
how  much  truth  and  how  much  error  they  con- 
tain. 

The  extreme  position  on  one  side  of  this  sub- 
ject is  that  taken  by  the  Seventh-day  Baptists, 
who  hold  that  we  are  bound  to  keep  the  Jewish 
Sabbath.  They  claim  that,  the  fourth  command- 
ment being  still  in  force  both  in  spirit  and   in 

(9) 


26  TJie  Lord's  Day. 

letter,  we  are  bound  to  keep  the  seventh  day  of  the 
week,  beginning  on  Friday  at  sunset  and  closing 
on  Saturday  at  the  same  hour.  These  people  are 
not  numerous,  but  they  are  intelligent,  pious  and 
very  zealous  in  the  propagation  of  their  views. 
Though  it  is  undoubtedly  erroneous,  some  defer- 
ence must  be  paid  to  their  opinion,  since  they 
claim  to  be  the  only  Christians  who  keep  the 
fourth  commandment,  and  charge  all  others  with 
violating  the  Sabbath.  Though  their  numbers 
are  small,  their  influence  is  considerable ;  but  we 
must  regard  it  as  calculated  to  hinder  rather  than 
promote  the  proper  observance  of  the  Christian 
Sabbath.* 

At  the  other  extreme  are  those  Christians  who 
maintain  that  the  Sabbath  has  been  wholly  abol- 
ished ;  that  there  is  no  distinction  of  days  in  the 
kingdom  of  Christ ;  that  the  advanced  Christian 
does  not  need  to  observe  "  times  and  seasons ;" 
and  that,  therefore,  the  Lord's  day  should  not  be 
regarded  as  having  any  peculiar  sanctity.  They 
claim  that  all  days  should  be  made  religious,  and 
that  to  mark  one  as  specially  so  is  to  secularize 
the  rest.f  The  number  of  those  who  maintain 
this  theory  is  not  very  great,  and,  so  far  as  we 

*  In  Chapters  IX.  and  X.  their  position  is  shown  to  be  un- 
tenable, 
f  Called  by  some  the  "  Antinomian"  view. 
(10) 


The  State  of  the  Question,  27 

know,  they  do  not  constitute  a  separate  denom- 
ination of  Christians  or  an  organized  party  of  any 
form.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  their  influence  is  not 
calculated  to  counteract  the  tendency  to  destroy 
the  sanctity  of  the  Lord's  day. 

Those  who  would  maintain  the  sanctity  of  the 
Lord's  day  are  divided  into  various  parties,  on 
account  of  the  different  reasons  which  they  pre- 
sent for  regarding  it  as  a  holy  day.  Some  say 
that  the  only  reason  for  keeping  it  holy  is  that 
the  Church  has  ordered  it.*  Romanists  and  all 
those  who  agree  with  them  concerning  the  author- 
ity of  the  Church  are  satisfied  with  this  reason. 
But  the  great  majority  of  the  American  people 
do  not  recognize  this  authority,  and  therefore  the 
acceptance  of  such  a  view  would  be  fatal  to  the 
general  observance  of  the  day. 

Other  friends  of  the  Lord's  day  maintain  that 
its  claim  to  observance  rests  wholly  upon  the  ex- 
ample of  the  apostles  and  early  Christians ;  that 
there  is  no  law^  concerning  it,  but  that  w^e  ought 
to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  those  holy  men.f 
This  may  have  some  force  with  those  who  regard 
the  apostles  as  acting  under  inspiration ;  but  the 
great  mass   of  men  will  never   stop  to  inquire 


*  Known  as  the  "  Ecclesiastical  "  view, 
t  Known  as  the  "  Dominical"  view. 


(11) 


28  The  Lord's  Day. 

whether  they  were  or  not ;  and  even  if  the  force 
of  their  example  be  acknowledged,  it  teaches  us 
nothing  except  that  we  ought,  in  some  way,  to 
mark  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  a  memorial  of 
Christ's  resurrection. 

Others  would  have  us  keep  it  holy  as  a  mark 
of  love  to  Christ,  because  it  is  the  Lord's  day. 
This  would  be  a  good  reason  to  those  who  love 
him,  but  has  no  force  with  others.  And  many 
will  say  that  Christ  w^as  very  pitiful  to  the  poor 
when  he  was  on  earth,  and  that  it  is  contrary  to 
his  disposition  and  purpose  to  deprive  them  of 
any  lawful  recreation  and  pleasure.  They  will 
argue  that  he  never  made  any  strict  rules  to  put 
people  under  bondage,  and  so  long  as  our  actions 
in  themselves  are  not  wrong  we  can  best  show 
our  love  to  him  by  accepting  the  liberty  he  gives 
us  to  follow  our  own  pleasure. 

Others  would  have  us  observe  the  Lord's  day 
for  the  sake  of  our  fellow  men,  in  order  that  they 
may  have  a  day  of  rest  and  opportunity  for 
mental,  moral  and  religious  improvement.*  But 
this  leaves  every  one  to  judge  what  is  best,  not 
only  for  himself  but  also  for  others.  The  great 
majority  do  not  recognize  at  all  man's  religious 
needs,  and,  if  they  conceded  the  advantage  of  an 

*  Sometimes  called  the  "  Humanitarian  "  view. 
(12) 


The  State  of  the  Question.  29 

occasional  holiday,  would  not  admit  that  there 
was  any  need  of  holy  days. 

Others  maintain  that  the  law  of  the  Sabbath, 
as  given  at  the  beginning  of  the  world's  history 
and  re-enacted  on  Sinai,  is  still  binding,  and  thai 
the  Sabbath  has  simply  been  transferred  to  the 
first  day  of  the  week.*  To  this  it  is  objected 
that  there  is  no  proof  of  the  existence  of  a  Sab- 
bath before  the  time  of  Moses,  and  that  it  must, 
therefore,  be  considered  a  purely  Jewish  institu- 
tion, which  was  never  designed  for  any  other 
people ;  and  that  there  is  no  evidence  sufficient 
to  satisfy  men's  minds  that  the  Jewish  Sabbath 
was  ever  transferred  to  the  Christian  Church. 
These  objections,  presented  by  those  who  would 
have  the  Lord's  day  kept  sacred,  but  who  base 
its  claim  to  observance  on  other  grounds,  are 
gladly  taken  up  by  those  who  do  not  wish  to 
observe  the  Sabbath  at  all.  Thus  the  ungodly 
scoff  at  the  proposal  to  perpetuate  the  Jewish 
Sabbath  by  simply  changing  the  day  of  the  week 
on  which  it  should  be  observed. 

Still  others  hold  that  the  fourth  command- 
ment is  now  binding ;  that  the  permanent  elements 
of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  have   been  preserved  in 


*  The  extreme  position  of  those  who  hold  the    "  Christian- 
Sabbath"  view. 

(13) 


30  The  Lord's  Day, 

the  Lord's  day,  but  that  it  has  been  modified  to 
suit  the  needs  and  conditions  of  the  Christian 
Church.* 

While  the  friends  of  the  Lord's  day  are  thus 
divided  in  their  counsels,  the  multitude  of  those 
who  violate  its  sanctity  is  steadily  increasing. 
When  the  former  enter  their  protest  against  its 
desecration,  the  latter  ask,  ^'  What  good  reasons 
can  you  give  for  keeping  it  holy  ?  You  do  not 
know  yourselves  why  it  should  be  sanctified ; 
what  right  have  you  to  ask  us  to  observe  it 
simply  because  you  think  we  ought  ?"  It  is  true 
that  something  is  being  done  by  the  various  Sab- 
bath associations  of  the  country  to  preserve  this 
institution ;  and  the  influence  of  the  churches  is 
not  without  its  effect,  though  far  too  often  their 
members  seem  to  have  no  decided  convictions  of 
duty  on  the  subject ;  but  comparatively  little  will 
be  accomplished  until  we  have  a  clear,  well- 
founded  doctrine  of  the  Sabbath.  If  professing 
Christians  waver  and  hesitate,  and  doubt  whether 
they  may  not  do  on  the  first  day  of  the  week 
whatever  they  do  on  other  days,  because  they 
feel  themselves  bound  by  no  law  concerning  it 

*  The  ordinary    "Christian-Sabbath"   view.     The  more  im- 
portant of  these  reasons  for  keeping  holy  the  Lord's  day  are 
fully  considered  in  Chapter  XI.     For  the  literature  maintaining 
them,  see  Appendix  A. 
(14) 


The  State  of  the  Question.  31 

much  more  will  those  who  are  indiffereni  to  re- 
ligion feel  that  the  notion  of  a  holy  Sabbath  is  a 
superstition  of  the  past,  and  repudiate  all  obliga- 
tion to  observe  it,  until  it  can  be  shown  that  it  is 
a  divine  institution,  established  to  meet  a  great 
want  in  the  nature  of  man. 

We  have  no  real  fear  that  the  Sabbath  will  be 
finally  destroyed.  God  will  care  for  his  own. 
Already  there  are  signs  that  the  efforts  of  those 
who  would  destroy  it  will  be  met  and  baffled  at 
every  point.  The  conscience  of  the  Christian 
public  is  awakening  on  the  subject,  and  hence- 
forth its  influence  in  favor  of  a  proper  observ- 
ance of  the  Lord's  day  will  be  more  vigorous  and 
efficient.  Nevertheless,  we  believe  that  one  of  the 
crying  needs  of  our  times  is  a  correct  doctrine  of 
the  Sabbath  presented  in  plain  and  simple  terms, 
so  that  all  may  understand  the  reasons  for  its 
observance. 

This  essay  is  an  attempt  to  prove  that  the 
Sabbath  originated  in  a  law  of  Jehovah ;  that  it 
was  meant  for  all  men ;  and  that  the  obligation 
to  observe  it  is  perpetual.  In  the  examination 
of  its  history  we  hope  to  arrive  at  the  truth  con- 
cerning the  foundation  on  which  the  institution 
rests.  We  hope  to  show  that  God  commanded  it, 
not  arbitrarily,  but  because  a  weekly  Sabbath  is 
necessary  to  the  highest  welfare  of  man.     So  far 

(15) 


32  The  Lord's  Day. 

as  possible  controversy  will  be  avoided  in  the 
discussion ;  but  in  examining  the  conflicting 
theories  of  the  Sabbath  which  have  been  put 
forth  it  will  be  necessary  to  show  to  what  extent 
they  are  false  or  defective,  in  order  that  we  may 
arrive  at  the  truth.  Some  of  ^hese  will  have  to 
be  rejected  as  utterly  false  and  worthless.  In 
the  case  of  others  we  shall  find  that  they  contain 
much  of  truth,  which  may  be  of  great  advantage 
to  us  in  framing  a  correct  opinion  concerning  the 
nature  and  obligation  of  the  Lord's  day.  He  is 
not  a  wise  man  who  rejects  truth  because  he  finds 
it  mixed  with  error.  As  well  might  the  gold- 
hunter  throw  away  the  specks  of  gold  which  he 
should  find  imbedded  in  the  rocks,  and  say  he 
would  have  none  but  the  pure.  Our  aim  is  to 
reach  the  exact  truth  concerning  the  Sabbath. 
We  are  not  committed  to  the  defence  of  any  par- 
ticular theory.  We  confess  that  we  love  the 
Lord's  day,  and  that  we  have  been  accustomed 
to  regard  it  as  a  great  blessing ;  but  if  fair 
investigation  of  the  subject  should  lead  to  the 
conclusion  that  it  is  a  human  and  needless  insti- 
tution, established  by  men  in  a  mistaken  effort  to 
perpetuate  a  feature  of  Judaism  which  God  meant 
to  be  temporary,  we  will  accept  the  fact.  It  is 
in  this  way  alone  that  men  can  discover  the  truth. 
We  ask  only  that  those  who  go  with  us  into  the 

(16) 


The  State  of  the  Question.  33 

investigation  shall,  in  the  same  way,  dispossess 
their  minds  of  every  preconceived  theory,  and  be 
ready  to  give  every  fact  and  argument  its  exact 
weight.  And  if  the  conclusion  is  that  the  Sab- 
bath is  a  divine  institution,  resting  upon  a  sure 
foundation  of  natural  law,  and  therefore  essen- 
tial to  the  welfare  of  man,  then  may  we  do  all 
in  our  power  to  secure  its  universal  observance. 

This  work  has  been  prepared  for  readers  of 
ordinary  intelligence,  and  is  not  addressed  espec- 
ially to  scholars.  For  those  who  have  made  a 
thorough  and  scholarly  examination  of  the  sub- 
ject, there  is  nothing  new  in  the  facts  which  it 
discusses.  It  makes  no  pretence  to  great  learn- 
ing. In  most  cases  it  quotes  authorities  which 
are  accessible  to  every  reader,  and  only  so  many 
of  these  as  are  necessary  to  the  line  of  proof 
which  is  followed.  The  literature  of  the  subject 
is  so  immense  that  it  would  be  useless  to  direct 
attention  to  more  than  a  small  portion  of  it.  The 
book  is  simply  an  attempt  to  place  within  the 
reach  of  those  who  have  not  time  or  opportunity 
to  study  the  matter  for  themselves  a  clear,  con- 
cise statement  of  the  reasons  for  believing  that 
the  Sabbath  is  a  necessity  for  man  and  a  divine 
institution,  and,  in  its  essential  features,  of  per- 
petual obligation.  The  writer  asks  attention  to 
the  subject  because  of  its  intrinsic  importance, 
3  (]7^ 


34  The  Lord's  Day. 

and  because  it  is  a  living  subject  for  the  American 
people.  He  asks  that  the  facts  and  arguments 
here  presented  may  receive  fair  and  candid  con- 
sideration, because  he  believes  that  he  has  adopted 
a  method  of  discussion  which  will  make  it  easy 
for  every  honest  and  intelligent  reader  to  discover 
the  truth  concerning  the  Sabbath.  The  nature 
of  the  subject  is  such  that  he  does  not  expect 
readers  of  any  other  character. 


(18) 


PART  I. 

NECESSITY  OF  THE  SABBATH. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    ARGUMENT    STATED. 

Come  now,  and  let  us  reason  together. — Isaiah  1  :  18. 

To  show  that  any  institution  is  universally 
necessary  to  the  welfare  of  man  furnishes  pre- 
sumptive evidence  that  its  establishment  has  not 
been  neglected  by  the  Creator.  In  this  state- 
ment it  is  taken  for  granted  that  God  is  a  benev- 
olent being.  It  is  not  necessary  to  prove  this 
point  by  a  labored  argument,  for  if  God  exists  he 
must  be  a  being  of  infinite  perfections,  and  so  of 
infinite  benevolence.  If  he  is  such  a  being,  it  is 
inconceivable  that  he  would  create  other  beings 
and  place  them  in  circumstances  where  they  could 
not  reach  their  highest  development,  or  deprive 
them  of  anything  essential  to  their  welfare.  For 
example,  if  man  is  to  reach  a  high  destiny,  it  is 
absolutely  necessary  that  he  should  know  God, 
his  character  and  laws,  and  that  he  should  know 

(1) 


36  Necessity  of  the  Sahbath. 

his  own  origin,  nature  and  destination.  This  need 
furnishes  a  kind  of  proof  that  God  will  reveal 
himself  to  men ;  that  he  has  revealed  himself  and 
made  known  all  the  truths  which  the  human  soul 
must  have  or  perish  in  darkness.  Suppose  an 
earthly  parent  knew  that  his  beloved  child,  lost 
in  a  forest,  was  about  to  walk  over  a  precipice 
and  perish,  and  that  by  a  word,  or  a  flash  of  light 
from  a  lantern,  he  could  save  him ;  would  he  with- 
hold the  warning  ?  Or  suppose  the  child  was  not 
in  imminent  danger  of  destruction,  but  was  wan- 
dering about  in  the  darkness  vainly  looking  for 
his  home,  and  the  father  could  guide  him  by 
placing  a  light  in  the  window ;  would  he  leave 
the  loved  one  still  to  wander  and  perish  ?  Have 
we  any  right  to  suppose  that  God  is  any  less  be- 
nevolent and  kind  than  a  good  earthly  parent? 
Do  we  not  instinctively  feel  the  truth  of  Christ's 
words  when  he  says,  "If  ye  then,  being  evil, 
know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children, 
how  much  more  shall  your  Father  which  is  in 
heaven  give  good  things  to  them  that  ask  him  ?"  * 
We  know  that  God  must  be  too  good  to  withhold 
anything  from  us  which  is  really  necessary  to  our 
welfare,  and  which  we  are  capable  of  receiving. 
This  is   one   of  the   strongest  arguments  for  an 

*  Matthew  7:11. 

(2) 


Tlie  Argument  Stated.  37 

inspired  revelation.  We  know  that  man  needs 
it;  that  he  is  lost  and  will  inevitably  perish 
without  it;  and  so  we  believe  that  God  has 
spoken  through  "  holy  men  of  old "  for  our  in- 
struction, guidance  and  salvation.  Men,  over- 
learned  and  over-wise,  may  find  fault  with  the 
form  of  the  revelation ;  they  may  pick  flaws  in 
the  book  that  contains  it.  But  while  we  feel  this 
deep-seated  craving  for  light  upon  the  great  sub- 
jects that  concern  our  eternal  destiny,  and  know 
that  it  is  a  noble  craving  for  what  is  essential  to 
our  highest  welfare,  we  cannot  believe  that  our 
Father  has  left  us  in  darkness.  The  cry  of  the 
nature  he  has  created  will  be  heard.  Jehovah 
must  be  of  those  gods  that  have  eyes  but  see  not, 
and  ears  but  hear  not,  if  he  can  leave  us  to  strug- 
gle alone.  We  know  that  the  Infinite  One  is  not 
thus  indifferent  to  our  needs,  but  "  like  as  a  father 
pitieth  his  children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that 
fear  him."  Thus  we  rejoice  in  the  belief  that  our 
need — a  need  which  he  has  created  and  which 
belongs  to  our  very  nature — has  moved  him  to 
give  us  an  inspired  revelation. 

The  same  argument  applies  to  anything  which 
may  be  supposed  to  have  a  divme  origin.  If  it 
can  be  shown  that  it  supplies  some  real  and  uni- 
versal want  in  the  nature  of  man,  but  that,  never- 
theless, man  would  not  have  been  likely  to  dis- 

(3) 


38  Necessity/  of  the  Sahhaih. 

cover  it  for  himself,  it  is  rendered  extremely 
probable  that  it  came  from  God.  Of  course,  if 
the  need  is  an  artificial  one,  if  it  is  merely  a 
desire  for  that  which  serves  no  good  purpose,  the 
argument  does  not  hold.  But  just  as  bodily 
hunger  finds  its  supply  in  food,  and  thirst  in 
water,  so  a  real  and  universal  hunger  of  man's 
nature  will  find  its  supply  in  some  provision  of  a 
benevolent  deity.  When,  therefore,  the  origin  of 
an  institution  which  serves  such  a  purpose  is 
ascribed  to  God,  the  only  way  in  which  the  asser- 
tion can  be  successfully  controverted  is  by  show- 
ing that  man  has  established  and  maintained  it 
for  himself.  The  benevolent  character  of  the 
institution  is  indirect  proof  of  its  divine  origin. 
When  there  is  manifest  congruity  between  an  act 
and  the  person  who  is  said  to  have  performed  it, 
less  evidence  is  required  to  fix  it  upon  him  than 
when  it  seems  out  of  all  harmony  with  his  char- 
acter. When  a  man  is  charged  with  a  crime,  to 
prove  that  he  has  a  bad  character  is  ordinarily  the 
first  step  in  establishing  his  guilt.  If  this  can  be 
effected,  his  guilt  at  once  becomes  probable,  and 
much  less  direct  evidence  is  needed  to  convict 
him.  A  previous  good  character,  on  the  contrary, 
is  held  to  be  proof  of  innocence,  and  nothing  but 
the  strongest  evidence  will  fasten  crime  upon  one 
who  can  establish  a  claim  to  it.  The  same  line 
(4) 


The  Argument  Stated,  39. 

of  proof  holds  good  in  the  case  of  virtuous  acts. 
If  you  hear  that  a  man  has  performed  an  act  of 
remarkable  liberality,  it  will  not  be  incredible  to 
you  if  you  know  him  to  be  a  very  generous  man. 
Let  us  suppose  a  case  which  exactly  illustrates 
our  argument.  You  know  a  lad  who,  you  think, 
ought  to  have  a  college  education.  You  know 
that  his  father  is  a  wise  and  good  man,  and  that 
he  has  abundant  means  to  educate  his  children. 
If  you  should  hear  some  day  that  he  has  decided 
to  send  his  son  to  college,  would  you  doubt  it  ? 
Would  you  require  any  great  amount  of  proof  to 
convince  you  that  the  report  was  true  ?  Why  is 
not  this  argument  good  in  its  bearing  upon  an  in- 
stitution which  is  said  to  have  a  divine  origin? 
If  the  institution  is  good  in  its  nature,  if  it  meets  i 
a  universal  want  in  man,  is  not  all  objection  to 
ascribing  it  to  God  removed  ? 

This  is  the  first  argument  which  we  propose  to 
use  in  establishing  the  divine  origin  and  perpetual 
obligation  of  the  Sabbath.  If  we  can  show  that 
the  Sabbath  is  an  institution  which  is  necessary 
to  the  welfare  of  man,  that  it  meets  a  real  want  • 
in  his  nature,  and  that  it  could  have  had  only  a 
benevolent  origin,  we  shall  be  prepared  for  the 
ready  reception  of  any  direct  evidence  that  it 
came  from  God.  If  man  has  always  needed  this 
institution;    if  God  created  him  with  a  nature 

(5) 


40  Necemiy  of  the  Sabbath, 

which  could  not  reach  its  highest  development 
without  the  Sabbath ;  if  such  a  rest-day  is  essen- 
tial, not  only  to  his  happiness,  but  also  to  his 
moral  redemption  and  improvement, — we 'are  pre- 
pared to  believe  that  God  has  given  it  to  him,  and 
that  to  reject  it  would  be  to  scorn  a  divine  gift 
and  to  sin  against  a  divine  law.  We  do  not  say 
that  proof  of  its  necessity  is  proof  of  its  divine 
origin.  We  claim  only  that  proof  of  its  necessity 
to  our  highest  welfare  makes  it  probable  that  God 
established  it,  and  prepares  us  to  ascribe  to  it  a 
divine  origin  with  a  less  measure  of  direct  proof 
than  would  be  otherwise  required. 

And  this  is  not  all.  If  the  Sabbath  is  neces- 
sary to  the  well-being  of  man,  if  it  meets  a  real 
want  in  his  nature,  then  it  belongs  alike  to  all 
races  and  nations  of  men,  and  its  observance  is 
equally  binding  upon  all.  If  this  institution  had 
its  origin  in  the  benevolence  of  God,  moved  to 
action  by  his  perception  of  man's  need,  it  was  not 
meant  to  be  limited  to  the  Jewish  nation,  or  to 
any  particular  time,  but  was  intended  to  be  per- 
petual, and  serves  its  purpose  only  when  it  is 
observed  by  all  peoples.  God  hath  "made  of 
one  every  nation  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the 
face  of  the  earth."  *  In  the  Bible  men  are  treated 
in  accordance  with  this  fact.     One  of  its  central 


*  Acts  17  :  26,  Revised  Version. 
(6) 


The  Argument  Stated.  41 

principles  is  that,  in  his  dealings  with  men,  God 
looks  straight  through  all  that  is  superficial  and 
accidental,  and  considers  only  the  essential  nature 
that  is  at  the  centre.  He  treats  man  as  man. 
This  is  true  of  his  estimates  of  character.  "The 
Lord  seeth  not  as  man  seeth ;  for  man  looketh  on 
the  outward  appearance,  but  the  Lord  looketh  on 
the  heart."  *  It  is  true  of  rank.  When  Naaman 
came  to  Elisha  to  be  healed  of  his  leprosy,  "  he 
wanted  to  be  treated  as  a  great  man  that  happened 
to  be  a  leper ;  Elisha  treated  him  as  a  leper  that 
happened  to  be  a  great  man."f  It  is  true  of 
races.  "  God  is  no  respecter  of  persons ;  but  in 
every  nation  he  that  feareth  him,  and  worketh 
righteousness,  is  accepted  with  him."  J  If  one 
characteristic  of  Christ's  work  is  more  prominent 
than  any  other,  it  is  that  he  wrought  in  behalf 
of  men,  and  not  of  any  particular  class.  His  last 
command  was  that  his  gospel  should  be  preached 
to  all  the  world.  These  facts  suggest  an  import- 
ant truth.  They  show  that  the  Bible  was  meant 
to  be  a  book  for  the  whole  race.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  say  that  its  revelations  and  precepts  were 
meant  for  the  Jews  alone.  It  is  not  safe  to  say 
that  of  any  command  or  any  institution,  unless 

*  1  Samuel  16:7. 

f  Alexander  Maclaren,  Sermons,  series  iii.  p.  244. 

X  Acts  10  :  34,  35. 

(7) 


42  Necessity  of  the  Sahhath. 

we  have  a  warrant  for  such  a  limitation  in  some 
statement  of  the  Bible.  Otherwise  we  are  to 
conclude  that  these  commands  were  given  through 
the  Hebrew  people  to  all  mankind.  This  could 
fitly  be  done,  because  they  were  a  part  of  the  race. 
The  Jew  was  a  man,  and  his  nature  did  not  differ 
essentially  from  universal  human  nature.  What 
was  good  for  him  as  a  man  is  good  for  all  men. 
What  was  binding  upon  him  as  a  man  is  binding 
upon  all  men.  If  he  needed  the  Sabbath,  all 
men  need  it.  If  it  was  a  sin  for  him  to  violate 
it,  it  is  a  sin  for  any  man  in  any  age  or  country 
to  violate  it.  This  is  true,  of  course,  only  on  the 
supposition  that  it  was  given  to  him  as  a  man  and 
not,  primarily,  as  a  Jew.  On  certain  conditions 
a  thing  may  be  good  for  one  race  or  one  age,  and 
useless  or  baneful  to  another.  When  a  people 
are  ignorant  and  depraved,  incapable  of  thought 
and  self-control,  an  absolute  monarchy  is,  perhaps, 
the  only  form  of  government  that  can  be  main- 
tained among  them.  An  intelligent  and  virtuous 
people  know  how  to  appreciate  and  preserve  the 
priceless  gift  of  liberty,  and  to  exercise  self- 
government.  But  this  difference  is  the  result  of 
certain  accidents  which  do  not  affect  the  real 
nature  of  each  individual  man  in  either  nation. 
These  differing  conditions  are  superficial,  and  do 
not  touch  the  essential  human  nature  of  every 

(8) 


The  Argument  Stated,  43 

man  among  them.  There  are  no  such  differences 
among  men  that  a  need  growing  out  of  the  nature 
of  one  is  not  felt  by  every  other.  For  example, 
all  aeBd-llie  gospel,  and  none  are  so  civilized  that 
they  can  be  saved  without  repentance  and  faith 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  All  have  a  sense  of 
sin,  and  all  believe  in  some  form  of  a  future  life. 
Every  mother  loves  her  child,  and  the  love  of  the 
sexes  for  each  other  is  everywhere  the  strongest 
passion.  These,  and  other  things  which  might  be 
mentioned,  show  the  essential  unity  and  solidar- 
ity of  the  human  family.  It  follows  that  if  the 
Sabbath  is  good  for  any  race  of  men,  as  men,  it 
is  good  for  all  races.  If  it  meets  a  want  of  our 
nature,  and  was  established  for  that  reason,  it  was 
established  for  all  men,  and  will  be  obligatory  so 
long  as  the  present  conditions  of  human  existence 
continue.  When  these  conditions  are  changed, 
when  the  millennium  comes,  or  when  we  have  "  a 
new  heaven  and  a  new  earth,"  men  may  not  need 
what  their  natures  have  hitherto  demanded.  But 
this  argument  is  meant  to  apply  only  to  man  in 
his  present  state — to  man  with  an  earthly  life  to 
live,  and  with  human  duties  to  perform. 

So  far  our  statements  have  been  hypothetical. 
To  make  the  argument  of  any  value,  we  must 
show  that  the  Sabbath  is  essential  to  the  welfare 
of  man.     If  that  can  be  done,  we  shall  have  pre- 

(9) 


44  Necessity  of  the  Sabbath. 

sumptive  evidence  that  God  established  it  for  the 
whole  race  and  for  all  time.  It  may  be  asked  at 
this  point,  "  What  do  you  mean  by  the  Sabbath  ?" 
We  mean  the  cessation  of  ordinary  work  on  every 
seventh  day,  and  the  devotion  of  that  day  to  rest 
and  religious  exercises.  This  is  a  very  general 
definition,  but  it  is  sufficiently  precise  for  our 
present  purpose.  It  will  be  time  enough  to  con- 
sider how  we  are  to  keep  the  day  when  we  have 
determined  whether  we  are  under  obligations  to 
keep  it  at  all.  What  we  now  undertake  to  show 
is  that  the  devotion  of  one  day  in  seven  to  rest 
and  religious  exercises  is  essential  to  man's 
physical,  intellectual,  social,  moral  and  religious 
welfare.  We  go  farther  than  to  say  that  it  is 
desirable  or  expedient.  If  it  is  not  essential,  our 
argument  falls  to  the  ground.  If  the  loss  or  the 
universal  disregard  of  the  Sabbath  would  not 
result  finally  in  the  ruin  of  man,  if  its  proper 
observance  by  all  would  not  result  in  elevating 
him  to  a  nobler  position  than  he  has  yet  attained, 
we  are  willing  to  surrender  the  case  and  acknowl- 
edge that  the  Sabbath  should  be  classified  among 
obsolete  and  worn-out  institutions.  And  we  desire 
to  assert  only  so  much  as  can  be  established  by  a 
fair  appeal  to  the  facts  of  experience  and  conscious- 
ness. Let  us  now  address  ourselves  to  the  task 
of  considering  whether  the  Sabbath  is  a  necessity. 
(10) 


CHAPTEH  IL 

THE  SABBATH  NECESSARY  TO  MAN's  PHYSICAL  WELFARE. 

Fresh  glides  the  brook  and  blows  the  gale, 

Yet  yonder  halts  the  quiet  mill ; 
The  whirring  wheel,  the  rushing  sail, 

How  motionless  and  still  ! 
Six  days  of  toil,  poor  child  of  Cain, 

Thy  strength  the  slave  of  want  may  be ; 
The  seventh  thy  limbs  escape  the  chain — 

A  God  hath  made  thee  free. — Lytton. 

Man's  nature  is  complex.  He  has  both  a  soul 
and  a  body.  The  interdependence  of  these  two 
makes  it  almost  as  important  to  care  for  one  as 
for  the  other.  It  may  be  said  that  man's  primary 
duty  is  to  care  well  for  his  body.  For  all  the 
practical  duties  of  life,  he  needs  to  be  a  good 
animal.  If  he  cares  only  for  the  body,  he  be- 
coDies  a  mere  animal ;  but  if  he  neglects  the 
body  altogether,  what  can  he  do  in  life  that  is 
worth  doing  ?  When  its  strength  is  gone  and  its 
functions  deranged,  he  becomes  a  helpless  and 
miserable  creature.  If  he  has  been  dependent 
upon  manual  labor  for  his  livelihood,  he  now  be- 
comes a  beggar  or  a  burden  to  his  friends.  If  he 
has  been  an  intellectual  toiler,  he  finds  that  the 
mind  will  not  w^ork  when  the  body  on  which  it  de- 
Ill) 


46  Necessity/  of  the  Sahhath. 

pends  has  become  diseased.  There  can  be  no  clear 
thinking,  no  steady  and  profitable  application  to 
intellectual  pursuits,  when  the  digestion  is  im- 
paired, the  nervous  system  shattered  and  the  body 
generally  enfeebled.  The  enjoyment  of  life  de- 
pends more  upon  the  state  of  the  bodily  health 
than  upon  any  other  condition. 

"  Health  is  the  vital  principle  of  bliss." 

Men  grow  despondent,  gloomy,  foreboding  and 
fretful  when  the  general  health  is  impaired.  They 
feel  that  their  efficiency  is  gone,  that  they  have 
nothing  to  hope  for,  and  that  life  is  not  worth 
living.  Acute  pain  in  some  bodily  member  may 
be  borne  with  resignation  and  cheerfulness,  but 
disease  which  enfeebles  the  whole  body  destroys 
the  enjoyment  of  life.  It  acts  upon  the  spirits, 
the  mind  itself  becomes  diseased,  the  will  is 
powerless  to  resist  the  baleful  influences,  and  even 
the  consolations  of  religion  are  hardly  sufficient  to 
make  life  tolerable.  Faith  itself  is  darkened 
when  body  and  mind  are  thus  disordered. 

But  the  damage  is  not  confined  to  the  individual 
or  to  a  single  generation.  Our  natural  descent  is 
dependent  upon  bodily  functions,  and  so  disease, 
or  a  tendency  to  it,  in  parents  is  transmitted  from 
generation  to  generation.  This  is  especially  the 
case  with  feebleness.     Weak  or  worn-out  parents 

(12) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Physical  Welfare.    47 

never  have  strong  or  healthy  children.  Thus  a 
whole  race  may,  in  a  few  generations,  become 
enervated  and  enfeebled. 

It  is  evident  that  man  cannot  reach  his  highest 
development  without  due  attention  to  the  body. 
This  is  true  both  of  the  individual  and  of  the 
race.  Boast  as  we  may  of  our  possession  of 
mental  and  moral  powers,  the  fact  still  remains 
that  the  body  cannot  be  neglected  without  disas- 
ter to  the  whole  man.  Bodily  health  is  the  only 
foundation  on  which  can  be  built  the  superstruc- 
ture of  a  noble  life  or  a  noble  civilization.  Other 
things  being  equal,  the  men  who  win  in  the  race 
of  life  are  the  men  who  have  the  best  bodies. 
Those  peoples  who  have  the  most  physical  strength 
and  endurance  are  the  peoples  who  rule  or  will 
rule  the  world.  The  power  of  the  Hebrews  to 
suffer  and  to  endure  and  still  to  persist  as  a 
separate  people  is  largely  owing  to  their  careful 
observance  of  the  laws  of  health.  The  Anglo- 
Saxon  is  gaining  the  mastery  of  the  world  as 
much  by  virtue  of  his  superior  physique  as  for 
any  other  reason.  These  facts  serve  to  illustrate 
the  great  principle  that  if  man  is  ever  to  reach 
the  ideal  standard  of  development,  he  must  take 
the  best  possible  care  of  his  body.  Physical  de- 
velopment is  not  the  end  in  view,  but  it  is  an  essen- 
tial means  to  the  attainment  of  the  highest  ends. 

(13) 


48  Necessity  of  the  Sabbath. 

Labor  is  a  necessity  for  the  great  mass  of  men 
in  this  life.  Even  existence  cannot  be  maintained 
without  it,  and  the  more  well-directed  labor  there 
is  performed,  the  more  rapid  is  the  progress  of  the 
race.  If  any  do  not  work,  either  with  brain  or 
hands,  it  is  because  they  are  unable  or  unwilling 
to  contribute  their  share  to  the  promotion  of  the 
welfare  of  humanity.  When  men  can  work  and 
will  not,  it  is  because  they  are  selfish  and  mean 
enough  to  live  upon  the  labor  of  others  without 
making  any  return.  Though  a  few  may  be  re- 
lieved from  the  necessity  of  labor,  the  great 
majority  of  mankind  have  no  choice  in  the 
matter.  They  must  work  or  perish,  and  gener- 
ally they  need  to  employ  all  their  powers. 

The  tax  of  labor  must  be  paid  chiefly  by  the 
body.  This  is  readily  perceived  in  the  case  of 
manual  labor,  but  it  is  also  true  of  intellectual 
work.  The  toil  of  the  brain  exhausts  the  physical 
strength  more  rapidly  than  the  toil  of  the  hands. 
A  healthy  man  can  work  at  the  latter  from  ten  to 
fourteen  hours  a  day  without  injury,  but  few  men 
can  do  brain  work  for  more  than  eight  hours  a 
day,  and  most  find  themselves  exhausted  with 
six.  We  do  not  need  to  dwell  upon  facts  so  well 
known,  but  may  recur  to  the  fact  that  labor 
primarily  taxes  the  body.  The  great  problem  of 
every  toiler  is  to  do  his  work  and,  at  the  same 

(14) 


The  Sabhath  and  Man's  Physical  Welfare.    49 

time,  maintain  his  physical  health  and  strength 
This   IS   because  the   body   has   only   a  limited 
amount   of   power   and   endurance.       Even   the 
strongest  cannot  labor  unbrokenly  for  more  than 
a  few   hours.     Man  is   so   constituted   that  the 
torces   of  his  system   are  soon   exhausted.     He 
soon  becomes  weary,  and  after  a  time  further  ex 
ert.on  is  simply  impossible.     But  it  is  possible  to 
recupmte     his    body    and    restore    its    wasted 
strength  and  energy.     This  law  of  waste  and  re-  ' 
pair  IS  well  known,  though  the  best  methods  of 
preserving  the  proper  balance  are  not  so  well  un- 
derstood.    If  the  repair  is  more  than  the  waste, 
there  is  a  constant  addition  to  the  strength      This 

rtrh?;  f  T  '"''''  ''''  ^'^-^^  -h'  h-e  not 
reached  full  physical  development.     If  it  is  less, 

the  strength  is  impaired,  the  health  is  injured  and 
death  soon  ensues.  This  is  what  takes  place  as 
men  grow  old,  though  very  slowly  when  t'he  co" 
ditions  of  health  are  observed.  When  one  has 
reachea  full  physical  development  he  should  en- 
deavor to  „ake  the  repair  at  least  equal  to  the 

heTl  t  ll  ""  ''''"""'  ''  '^'  preservation  of 
health  and  the  prolongation  of  life  to  its  greatest 
practicable  limit.  We  have  already  shown  h. 
important  physical  vigor  and  health  are  to  the 
happmess  and  etficiency  of  individuals  and  to  the 
welfare  of  the  race.      If  human  life  and  energy 


50  Necessity  of  the  Sabbath. 

are  of  any  value,  it  is  important  to  prolong  life  as 
far  as  possible.  Every  premature  death  robs 
society  of  a  working  force,  on  which  it  has  estab- 
lished a  claim  by  its  care  of  the  worker  during 
his  early  years. 

To  repair  the  waste  caused  by  labor,  so  as  to 
preserve  the  health  and  keep  the  strength  at  the 
maximum  of  efficiency,  two  agents  must  be  em- 
ployed. They  are  food  and  rest.  These  are  the 
great  restoratives  of  the  laborer's  exhausted  en- 
ergies. Neither  alone  will  avail;  both  must  be 
employed.  However,  it  does  not  belong  to  this 
discussion  to  treat  of  the  former ;  we  are,  at  pres- 
ent, concerned  with  the  necessity  for  physical 
rest.  To  show  that  man  needs  a  weekly  day  of 
rest,  we  shall  present  the  arguments  which  may 
be  found  (1)  in  the  constitution  of  nature,  (2)  in 
the  testimony  of  physicians,  and  (3)  in  the  results 
of  experience. 

We  find  hints  of  this  necessity  in  the  period- 
icity which  marks  the  activity  of  every  form  of 
organic  life.  It  may  be  questioned  whether  this 
law  of  periodicity,  in  modified  form,  does  not  ex- 
tend even  to  the  inorganic  world.  It  is  now  well 
known  that  metals  and  woods  which  are  used  in 
implements  of  various  kinds  will  render  greater 
service,  if  given  intervals  of  rest,  than  they  will 
if  subjected  to  constant  strain.     For  example,  it 

(16) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Physical  Welfare.    51 

is  found  to  be  economical  to  let  car-wheels  "  rest " 
after  they  have  been  some  time  in  use.  But  the 
law  is  most  evident  in  the  activity  of  living  and 
organized  beings.  Plants  have  their  regular 
periods  of  growth  and  rest,  or  of  fruit-bearing  and 
rest,  during  each  succeeding  year.  The  higher 
we  go  in  the  scale  of  life  the  shorter  are  the 
periods.  Animals  can  maintain  uninterrupted  ac- 
tivity for  only  a  short  time.  At  regular  intervals 
there  is  a  demand  for  sleep — a  complete  cessation 
of  all  voluntary  activity — which  no  effort  of  will 
can  resist.  The  action  of  this  law  may  be  tempo- 
rarily suspended,  but  it  is  impossible  permanently 
to  modify  it.  After  a  time  the  spur  and  the  whip 
are  applied  in  vain  to  the  jaded  beast :  he  will  fall 
asleep  in  his  tracks.  In  the  case  of  man,  nature 
insists  upon  a  long  period  of  sleep  every  twenty- 
four  hours.  Rigorously  each  day  she  demands 
for  him  this  time  of  complete  repose  of  mind  and 
body.  If  disease  or  torture  render  it  impossible 
for  several  days  in  succession,  death  is  the  inev- 
itable result.  So  absolute  is  this  law,  and  so 
sudden  and  terrible  are  the  penalties  of  its  viola- 
tion, that  very  few  ever  think  of  disregarding  it. 
In  fact,  it  cannot  be  violated  long  by  the  unaided 
will,  for  nature  will  push  her  demand  for  sleep 
until  the  will  is  broken  down. 

Thus,    on  the  constitution  of   nature   we  find 

(17) 


62  Necessity  of  the  Sahhath. 

plainly  written  this  law  of  periodic  activity  with 
intervals  of  rest.  It  does  not  matter  whether  we 
call  it  a  law  of  nature  or  a  law  of  God,  we  must 
obey  it  or  perish.  But  does  nature  indicate  that 
anything  more  than  a  daily  rest  is  demanded  for 
man  and  other  animals  of  the  higher  orders  ? 
We  need  not  be  surprised  to  find  that  these 
complex  organizations  require  more  than  one  kind 
of  rest. 

In  the  case  of  man  careful  and  scientific  obser- 
vation has  shown  that  the  daily  rest  is  not  suffi- 
cient. Men  who  work  hard  every  day,  as  hard 
as  most  men  must  work,  soon  become  jaded  and 
worn,  even  though  they  are  careful  to  take  the 
requisite  amount  of  sleep.  The  waste  is  greater 
than  the  repair,  and  health  and  strength  fail. 
Whether  this  would  be  true  if  men  were  physic- 
ally perfect,  and  perfectly  observed  all  the  laws 
of  health,  it  is  impossible  to  say.  We  are  obliged 
to  take  men  as  they  are,  and  to  consider  their 
present  necessities.  In  his  present  condition  man 
needs  days  as  well  as  hours  of  rest.  Indeed 
we  are  beginning  to  discover  that  it  is  a  good 
thing  for  hard-worked  men  to  have,  now  and  then, 
a  week  or  even  a  month  of  rest.  The  man  who 
works  every  day  in  the  year  exhausts  his  vital 
force  faster  than  it  can  be  replenished  by  food  and 
sleep.  One  physiological  reason  for  this  can  be 
(18) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Physical  Welfare.    53 

stated  in  a  few  words.  It  is  well  known  that 
health  and  vigor  and'  even  life  itself  are  depend- 
ent upon  a  proper  supply  of  oxygen.  A  man  is 
constantly  inhaling  oxygen  and  consuming  it  in 
the  support  of  his  vital  force,  producing  thus  the 
carbonic  acid  gas  which  he  expires.  In  order  to 
keep  his  vital  force  good  he  must  take  in  as  much 
as  he  consumes.  But  when  he  is  working,  or 
actively  exercising  in  any  way,  it  is  impossible 
to  do  this,  and  the  extra  supply  demanded  is 
taken  from  his  blood  and  muscles.  While  thus 
engaged  the  amount  of  that  which  is  necessary 
to  the  support  of  his  life — which  is  really  his  life 
— is  constantly  lessening.  Some  interesting  ex- 
periments conducted  at  Munich  show  that  a  hard 
day's  work  diminishes  the  amount  of  oxygen  in 
the  system  about  one  ounce.*  It  has  been  found 
that  the  laborer  does  not  recover  during  the  night 
the  oxygen  he  has  thus  overdrawn.  If  he  re- 
covers five-sixths  of  it — and  this  is  a  liberal  esti- 
mate— in  one  year  of  entirely  unbroken  drudgery 
he  will  have  consumed  about  four  pounds  more 
of  oxygen  than  he  has  inhaled.  As  this  repre- 
sents his  life-force  more  fully  than  any  other 
element  of  his  body,  it  does  not  require  an  elab- 
orate calculation  to  show  that  he  must  soon  be- 


*  See  "  The  Annual  of  Scientific  Discovery  "  for  1869,  p.  298. 

(19) 


54  Necessity/  of  the  Sahhath. 

come  exhausted.  A  few  years  of  such  unrespited 
work  must  wear  him  out  and  send  him  to  his 
grave.  In  the  natural  course  of  things  the  rate 
of  his  exhaustion  will  be  rapidly  accelerated,  for, 
if  the  support  of  himself  and  his  family  requires  a 
specific  amount  of  work,  as  he  grows  weaker  he 
must  make  a  constantly-increasing  effort  to  per- 
form his  allotted  task,  and  it  is  the  amount  of 
effort  that  determines  the  rate  of  exhaustion. 
But  an  occasional  day  of  rest  will  make  good  this 
overdraft.  When  his  system  has  been  thus  over- 
taxed for  a  time,  if  he  takes  a  day  of  rest  he  in- 
hales more  oxygen  than  he  consumes.  If  the 
rest  day  comes  just  at  the  right  time,  it  will  serve 
completely  to  restore  the  equilibrium  and  make 
him  as  good  as  new.  The  man  thus  gets  back 
the  life  which  has  been  spent ;  he  is  literally  re- 
created. The  man  who  labors  continuously  must 
die  early,  but  the  man  who  takes  sufficient  rest 
to  keep  his  vital  force  at  the  normal  point  may 
live  on  to  a  good  old  age.  This  is  not  fanciful ; 
it  is  a  simple  physiological  fact.  It  is  not  a  mat- 
ter of  religion ;  it  is  a  question  of  science.  What- 
ever power  made  man  so  that  he  inhales  and 
consumes  oxygen  and  exhales  carbonic  acid  gas, 
so  constituted  him  that  periods  of  rest  must  fol- 
low protracted  seasons  of  labor.  Whether  or  not 
the  soul  of  man  needs  a  Sabbath — whether  or 

(20) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Physical  Welfare,    55 

not  he  has  a  soul — it  is  certain  that  his  body 
needs  days  of  rest  which  shall  come  at  regular 
intervals. 

But  how  frequent  shall  be  these  rest-days? 
Here  nature  does  not,  perhaps,  furnish  us  with 
an  unerring  guide.  When  night  comes  she  says 
to  all  workers,  "  It  is  now  time  to  rest  and 
sleep,"  but  she  has  set  no  unmistakable  mark 
upon  any  day  as  a  sign  that  it  must  be  used  for 
rest.  Men  feel  the  need  of  occasional  rest-days, 
but  how  to  obtain  them  and  how  frequently  they 
shall  come  are  points  difficult  to  arrange.  Left 
to  their  own  judgment,  they  could  not  agree  upon 
the  requisite  number  of  rest-days  in  a  year. 
But  men  are  so  bound  together  in  their  occupa- 
tions that  it  is  impossible  for  any  considerable 
portion  of  a  community  to  cease  from  their  ordin- 
ary work  unless  all  do.  Certain  classes  might  be 
able  to  stop  work  whenever  they  pleased,  but  the 
majority  could  not.  Here,  then,  is  a  want  which 
man  cannot  supply.  We  claim  that  in  the  weekly 
rest-day  the  want  is  exactly  met.  In  the  first 
place,  here  is  a  point  of  agreement,  or  at  least 
the  suggestion  of  a  common  basis  of  agreement. 
When  every  seventh  day  is  suggested  as  the 
right  proportion  by  a  people  who  claim  to  have 
received  it  from  God,  who  have  tried  it  for  cen- 
turies and  found  it  to  work  well,  it  is  worth  while 

(21) 


56  Necessity/  of  the  Sahhath. 

for  others  also  to  try  it.  Wherever  this  arrange- 
ment has  been  tested  the  results  have  proved  to 
be  in  its  favor.  Wherever  they  have  been 
brought  into  contrast  with  the  results  of  other 
arrangements,  they  have  furnished  striking  proofs 
of  its  wisdom.  The  French  republic  tried  one 
day  in  ten  and  found  that  this  did  not  give  rest- 
days  enough.  Those  Asiatic  peoples  who  have 
no  rest-days  show  by  their  want  of  physical 
vigor  and  strength  the  disastrous  effects  of  un- 
remitting toil.  Certain  classes  of  workmen  in 
Europe  have  no  rest-days,  and  the  result  is  that 
they  are  feeble  and  short-lived.  Horace  Greeley 
says  that  he  saw  no  old  men  in  the  workshops 
of  Paris.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  has,  by  its  system  of  fast-days 
and  festiA^als,  given  to  some  of  the  peoples  of 
Europe  rest-days  more  numerous  than  one  day 
in  seven.  The  results  are  idleness  and  enerva- 
tion. One  day  in  seven  for  rest  seems  to  be 
exactly  the  right  proportion.  It  has  been  found 
that  the  amount  of  exhaustion  of  the  oxygen  of 
the  system — in  other  words,  of  the  life-power — by 
six  days  of  labor  is  the  amount  that  can  be  sup- 
plied by  a  day  of  complete  rest.*  With  this 
arrangement  the  working  man  is  enabled  to  hold 

^'  See  Ar»pendix  B. 
(22) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Physical  Welfare.    57 

his  own  in  the  matter  of  physical  vigor,  provided 
he  has  sufficient  food  and  sleep.  William  Von 
Humboldt  was  not  a  special  friend  to  revealed  re- 
ligion, but  he  was  an  eminent  scientist  and  a  close 
student  of  man's  physical  needs.  On  this  sub- 
ject he  bears  valuable  and  important  testimony 
in  the  following  words :  "  I  completely  agree 
with  you  that  the  institution  of  fixed  days  of 
rest,  even  if  it  had  no  connection  with  religious 
observance,  is  a  most  pleasing  and  truly  refreshing 
idea  to  every  one  who  has  a  humane  mind  toward 
all  classes  of  society.  The  selection  of  the  seventh 
day  is  certainly  the  wisest  that  could  have  been 
made.  Although  it  may  seem,  and  to  some 
extent  may  be,  optional  to  shorten  or  lengthen 
labor  one  day,  I  am  convinced  that  six  days  is 
the  just  and  true  measure  suitable  to  men  in 
regard  to  their  physical  powers  and  perseverance 
in  a  monotonous  employment.  There  is  likewise 
something  humane  in  this,  that  the  beasts  that 
aid  man  in  his  labor  share  in  the  rest.  To 
lengthen  the  time  of  returning  rest  beyond 
measure  would  be  as  inhuman  as  foolish.  I  have 
had  an  example  of  this  in  my  ow^n  experience. 
When  I  spent  several  years  in  Paris  in  the  time 
of  the  revolution,  I  saw  this  institution,  despite 
its  divine  origin,  superseded  by  the  dry  and 
wooden    decimal    system.     Only   the  tenth    day 

(23) 


58  Necemty  of  the  Sahbath. 

was  what  we  call  Sunday,  and  all  customary 
work  continued  for  nine  long  days.  This  being 
evidently  too  long,  Sunday  was  kept  by  several 
as  far  as  the  police  laws  would  permit  it,  and 
thus  again  too  much  idleness  was  the  result. 
Thus  we  are  always  between  two  extremes  so 
soon  as  we  remove  from  the  safe  and  regulated 
middle  path."  *  Proudhon,  the  French  political 
writer  and  socialist,  was  another  man  who  looked 
at  the  question  purely  from  an  economic  point  of 
view.  After  praising  Moses  for  his  skill  and 
wisdom  in  fixing  the  right  proportion  between 
days  of  labor  and  days  of  rest,  he  says  :  "  The 
certainty  of  the  science  is  proved  by  the  result. 
Decrease  the  week  by  only  one  day,  and  the 
labor  is  insufficient  for  the  repose ;  increase  it  by 
the  same  amount,  and  it  is  too  much.  Fix  every 
three  days  and  a  half,  a  half-day  of  relaxation, 
and  you  increase  by  dividing  the  day  the  loss  of 
time,  and  by  breaking  the  natural  unity  of  the 
day  the  numerical  balance  of  things  is  broken. 
If  you  grant,  on  the  other  hand,  forty-eight 
hours  of  rest  after  twelve  consecutive  days  of 
work,  you  kill  the  man  with  inertia  after  having 
exhausted  him  with  fatigue."  f 


*"  Letters  to  a  Friend,"  London,  1849. 
t  "  On  the  Observance  of  Sunday,"  p.  67. 
(24) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Physical  Welfare.    59 

We  turn  now  to  our  second  line  of  argument, 
namely,  that  which  may  be  found  in  the  testimony 
of  those  who  make  the  laws  of  health  the  study 
of  their  lives.  A  large  number  of  able  and 
experienced  physicians  have  borne  witness  to 
the  necessity  which  is  upon  workingmen  to  rest 
on  every  seventh  day.  These  testimonies  have 
so  frequently  been  published  as  to  make  their 
quotation  here  unnecessary.  They  have  never 
been  refuted ;  so  far  as  we  can  learn,  no  one  has 
ever  attempted  their  refutation.  With  remarkable 
unanimity  they  assert  that  men,  whether  toiling 
with  brain  or  hands,  who  rest  one  day  in  seven, 
will  be  healthier,  will  accomplish  more  work  year 
by  year  and  will  live  longer  than  those  who  work 
every  day.  They  say  that  members  of  the  latter 
class  nearly  always  break  down,  that  the  brain- 
workers  among  them  frequently  become  insane, 
and  that  the  hand-workers  become  enfeebled  and 
diseased.  This  is  the  substance  of  statements 
made  by  Dr.  J.  R.  Farre  before  a  committee  of 
the  British  House  of  Commons  in  1832 ;  by  six 
hundred  and  forty-one  medical  men  of  London 
in  a  petition  presented  to  Parliament  in  1853  ;  by 
Dr.  Carpenter,  the  great  physician  and  physiolo- 
gist of  England  ;  by  twenty-five  physicians  of  the 
New  Haven  Medical  Association ;  and  by  Drs. 
Thomas    Sewall,    Mussey,    Harrison,  Alden   and 

(25) 


60  Necessity  of  the  Sahhath, 

other  eminent  physicians  of  this  country.*  Dr. 
Paul  Niemeyer,  professor  of  hygiene  in  Leipsic 
University,  published  in  1876  a  prize  essay  on 
"  Sunday  Rest  from  a  Sanitary  Point  of  View." 
In  this  he  argues  strongly  for  a  weekly  day  of 
rest  as  essential  to  the  preservation  of  health. 
He  says  that,  aside  from  all  religious  considera- 
tions, Sunday  should  be  observed  as  a  day  of 
rest  for  the  sake  of  its  hygienic  benefits.  No 
sane  man  would  disregard  the  testimony  of  an 
authority  so  eminent  as  Dr.  Niemeyer. 

But  we  are  not  limited  to  evidence  which 
others  have  placed  before  the  public.  While  pre- 
paring this  book  the  writer  addressed  personal 
letters  to  a  few  of  the  eminent  physicians  of  this 
country,  asking  for  their  opinion  on  this  subject. 
Among  the  replies  received  were  the  following. 
The  first  is  from  Dr.  Alonzo  Clark,  long  recog- 
nized as  standing  among  the  very  first  of  his 
profession  in  New  York  city,  and  ex-president  of 
the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons.  He 
writes,  "  I  cheerfully  give  my  testimony  in  favor 
of  the  Sabbath  as  a  benevolent  institution  to  all 
— brain-workers  as  well  as  others.  I  have  in  my 
own  family  a  person  in  whose  case  the  remittance 


*  Most  of  this  testimony  is  presented  at  length  by  Gilfillan : 
''The  Sabbath/'  pp.  173-183. 
(26) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Physical  Welfare.    61 

of  labor  on  the  Sabbath  is  ahnost  a  renewal  of 
life.  It  is  my  belief  that  as  much  labor,  mental 
as  well  as  physical,  can  be  accomplished  in  six 
days  as  in  seven.  There  are  men  who  can  work 
seven  days  in  a  w^eek  and  not  impair  their  health, 
but  at  hard  work  the  human  frame  generally 
gives  way  sooner  or  later." 

The  second  is  from  Dr.  William  Pepper,  provost 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  generally 
acknowledged  to  be  at  the  head  of  his  profession 
in  Philadelphia.  He  says,  "  You  ask  my  opinion 
as  to  the  advantnge  of  observing  the  weekly 
Sabbath  as  a  means  of  maintaining  good  health. 
I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  it  is  my  clear 
opinion  that  the  regular  observance  of  the  Sab- 
bath does  tend  to  prolong  life,  to  improve  health, 
and  to  increase  in  quantity  and  quality  the  total 
work  done  by  the  individual.  There  are  excep- 
tional men  who  are  able  to  apply  themselves 
without  such  remissions  to  their  labors,  through- 
out a  long  life-time,  w^ithout  injury,  but  such 
exceptions  do  not  invalidate  the  general  rule  I 
have  stated.  I  must  add  that,  in  my  judgment, 
the  proper  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  in  order 
to  secure  the  greatest  physical,  mental  and 
moral  good  from  it,  involves  much  more  than 
attendance  on  divine  worship,  with  intervals 
of  monotonous  inaction.    Provision  should  always 

(27) 


62  Necessity  of  the  Sahhaih. 

be  made  for  healthful  exercise  of  body,  and 
for  innocent  and  agreeable  distraction  of  the 
mind."  Dr.  R.  J.  Levis,  another  eminent  physi- 
cian of  the  same  city,  writes,  "  I  believe  that, 
besides  its  moral  influences,  the  observance  of  a 
weekly  Sabbath  is  favorable  to  the  maintenance 
of  health.  A  weekly  day  of  rest,  with  moral 
safeguards  and  restraints,  is  a  blessing."  Such 
testimony  is  not  to  be  disregarded.  It  is  based 
upon  a  careful  study  of  man's  physical  constitu- 
tion and  upon  observation  of  the  results  of  dif- 
ferent habits  in  the  matter  of  work  and  rest.  It 
goes  to  show  that  a  weekly  day  of  rest  meets  a 
real  want  in  the  nature  of  man. 

The  evidence  we  have  derived  from  science 
and  from  the  testimony  of  medical  men  is  con- 
firmed by  experience.  Experiments  have  been 
tried,  the  results  of  which  have  tended  to  estab- 
lish the  opinion  we  have  advanced.  Mill  owners, 
manufacturers  and  contractors  have  tried  work- 
ing their  men  every  day  in  the  year.  Then  for 
some  reason  they  have  changed  and  granted  the 
men  the  weekly  day  of  rest.  In  the  state  of 
Pennsylvania  there  is  a  place  known  as  "  Sab- 
bath Rest."  The  name  was  given  to  it  from  the 
fact  that  some  years  ago  the  blast-furnaces  located 
there  were  owned  and  managed  by  a  man  who 
believed   in  observing  the  Lord's  day,  and  who 

(28) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Phydcal  Welfare.    63 

would  not  allow  them  to  be  run  in  violation  of  the 
Sabbath.  The  almost  universal  opinion  among 
iron-workers  is  that  to  let  the  furnaces  lie  idle 
over  Sunday  must  result  in  great  loss  and  incon- 
venience ;  hence  they  are  usually  kept  going 
every  day,  and  previous  to  the  time  mentioned 
these  furnaces  had  not  been  an  exception  to  the 
rule.  But  a  gentleman  who  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  facts  told  the  writer  that,  in  this  case,  just 
as  much  iron  was  smelted  as  w^hen  the  furnaces 
were  run  seven  days  in  a  week,  that  the  men 
were  healthier  and  happier,  and  that  they  were 
much  better  satisfied  with  their  wages,  though 
they  did  not  receive  quite  as  much. 

It  is  related  that  two  thousand  men  "  were 
employed  for  years  seven  days  in  a  w^eek.  To 
render  them  contented  in  giving  up  their  right  to 
the  Sabbath  as  a  day  of  rest,  that  birthright  of 
the  human  family,  they  paid  them  double  wages 
on  that  day — eight  days'  wages  for  seven  days' 
work.  But  they  could  not  keep  them  healthy 
or  make  them  moral.  Things  went  badly,  and 
they  changed  their  course,  employed  the  men 
only  six  days  in  a  week  and  allowed  them  to  rest 
on  the  Sabbath.  The  consequence  was  that  they 
did  more  work  than  ever  before.  This,  the  super- 
intendent said,  was  owing  to  two  causes — the  de- 
moralization of  the  people  under  the  first  system, 

(29) 


64  •    Necessity  of  the  Sahhath. 

and  their  exhaustion  of  bodily  strength,  which 
was  visible  to  the  most  casual  observer."*  Dr. 
Humphrey  mentions  a  case  which  is  still  more 
striking.  He  says,  "A  contractor  went  on  to 
the  West  with  his  hired  men  and  teams  to  make  a 
turnpike  road.  At  first  he  paid  no  regard  to  the 
Sabbath,  but  continued  his  work  as  on  other  days. 
He  soon  found,  however,  that  the  ordinances  of 
nature,  no  less  than  the  moral  law,  were  against 
him.  His  laborers  became  sickly,  his  teams  grew 
poor  and  feeble,  and  he  was  fully  convinced  that 
more  was  lost  than  gained  by  working  on  the 
Lord's  day.  So  true  is  it  that  the  Sabbath-day 
laborer,  like  the  drunkard  and  the  glutton,  under- 
mines his  health,  and  prematurely  hastens  the  in- 
firmities of  age  and  his  exit  from  this  world." f 
"  One  of  these  experiments  was  made  in  a  large 
flouring  establishment.  For  a  number  of  years 
the  mills  were  worked  seven  days  a  week.  The 
superintendent  was  then  changed.  He  ordered 
the  men  to  stop  the  works  at  eleven  o'clock  on 
Saturday  night,  and  not  to  start  them  till  one 
o'clock  Monday  morning,  thus  allowing  a  full  Sab- 
bath every  week.  And  the  same  men  during  the 
year  actually  ground  fifty  thousand  bushels  more 

*  Permanent  Sabbath  Documents,  No.  1,  p.  33. 
t  Quoted  by  Gilfillan,  p.  180. 
(30) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  FhyBical  Welfare,    65 

than  had  ever  been  ground  in  a  single  year  in 
that  establishment  before.  The  men  having  been 
permitted  to  cleanse  themselves,  put  on  their  best 
apparel,  rest  from  .worldly  business,  go  with  their 
families  to  the  hou^e  of  God,  and  devote  the  Sab- 
bath to  its  appropriate  duties,  were  more  healthy, 
punctual,  moral  and  diligent.  They  lost  less 
time  in  drinking,  dissipation  and  quarrels.  They 
were  more  clear-headed  and  whole-hearted ;  knew 
better  how  to  do  things  and  were  more  disposed 
to  do  them  in  the  right  way."*  In  every  case 
where  the  experiment  has  been  fairly  tried,  by 
bringing  the  two  methods  into  contrast,  it  has 
been  found  that  the  men  could  do  as  much  work 
in  six  days,  with  one  of  rest,  as  they  had  before 
done  in  seven,  and  that  the  work  was  less  wear- 
ing upon  them.  One  would  naturally  think  that 
he  could  do  more  in  seven  days  than  in  six,  and 
so  he  could  for  one  week,  and  perhaps  for  a  year; 
but  by  the  end  of  the  year  the  balance  would  be 
on  the  other  side,  and  the  Sabbath-keeping  man 
would  have  more  years,  for  his  life  would  be  pro- 
longed by  his  rest-days. 

The  longer  these  experiments  are  continued, 
the  more  striking  becomes  the  contrast.  The 
religious  peculiarities  of  the  Jews  furnish  us  with 


*  Charles  Elliott,  "The  Sabbath,"  p.  18. 

(31) 


66  Necessity  of  the  Sabbath. 

what  amounts  to  an  experiment  on  a  vast  scale. 
In  Europe  they  are  noted  for  the  strictness  with 
which  they  observe  their  Sabbath,  while  their 
Christian  neighbors  are  very  lax  in  observing 
Sunday.  Many  of  the  latter  work  seven  days  in 
a  week,  with  no  change  except  an  occasional 
holiday.  Now,  it  is  a  well-known  fact,  referred 
to  by  many  writers,  that  the  average  life  of 
the  Jews  is  ten  years  longer  than  that  of  Chris- 
tians in  the  same  countries.  It  has  also  been 
noticed  that  in  times  of  epidemic  diseases,  such 
as  cholera,  the  Jews  enjoy  remarkable  immunity 
from  attack.  These  facts  speak  volumes  in  favor 
of  the  hygienic  advantages  of  a  weekly  rest-day. 
Light  has  been  thrown  on  this  subject  in  a 
very  interesting  way  by  experiments  with  those 
lower  animals  which  man  employs  as  his  servants. 
It  has  been  found  that  if  they  do  not  have  their 
weekly  day  of  rest,  they  are  prematurely  worn 
out.  Two  or  three  illustrations  are  all  we  can 
find  room  for.  "A  hundred  and  twenty  horses 
were  employed  for  years  seven  days  in  a  week. 
But  they  became  unhealthy,  and  finally  died  so 
fast  that  the  owner  thought  it  was  too  expensive, 
and  put  them  on  a  six-days  arrangement.  After 
this  he  was  not  obliged  to  replenish  them  one 
fourth  part  as  often  as  before.  Instead  of  sink- 
ing  continually,  his    horses  came  up  again,  and 

(32) 


The  Sabbath  and  Mans  Physical  Welfare.    67 

lived  longer  than  they  could  have  done  on  the 
other  plan.  A  manufacturing  company  which  had 
been  accustomed  to  carry  their  goods  to  market 
with  their  own  teams  kept  them  employed  seven 
days  in  a  week,  as  that  was  the  time  in  which 
they  could  go  to  the  market  and  return.  But  by 
permitting  the  teams  to  rest  on  the  Sabbath,  they 
found  they  could  drive  them  the  same  distance  in 
six  days  that  they  had  formerly  done  in  seven, 
and  with  the  same  keeping  preserve  them  in  bet- 
ter order."*  The  case  of  Bianconi,  the  great  car 
or  stage  proprietor  of  Ireland,  has  become  famous. 
At  one  time  he  owned  fourteen  hundred  horses, 
and  the  result  of  his  vast  experience  was  that  he 
would  not  allow  one  of  them  to  be  driven  on 
Sunday.  He  said,  "- 1  can  work  a  horse  eight 
miles  a  day  for  six  days  in  the  week  much  better 
than  I  can  six  miles  a  day  for  seven  days  a  week. 
By  not  working  on  Sunday  I  save  at  least  twelve 
per  cent."f  Those  who  undertake  long  journeys 
with  domestic  animals,  such  as  emigrants  to  the 
West  iu  this  country  used  to  take,  find  that  they 
lose  far  more  than  they  gain  in  speed  by  travel- 
ling seven  days  in  a  week. 

Such  cases  are  instructive  for  us,  because  man 

*Charles  Elliott,  "The  Sabbath,"  p.  19. 
t  From  a  leaflet  entitled  "  How  to  Get  On."     See  Gilfillan,  p. 
183,  and  Craft's  "  Sabbath,"  etc.,  p.  199. 

(33) 


68  Necessitt/  of  the  Sahhath. 

is  related  in  his  physical  nature  to  the  lower 
animals.  His  body  is  subject  to  the  same  laws 
of  waste  and  repair  as  the  bodies  of  other  ani- 
mals. These  experiments  go  to  show  that  if  man 
were  a  mere  animal,  he  would  still  need  the 
weekly  Sabbath  as  a  day  of  rest.  But  he  is  more 
than  an  animal,  and  for  that  reason  is  in  greater 
need  of  a  Sabbath  even  for  the  sake  of  his  body. 
Every  one  knows  how  much  a  cheerful  mind  has 
to  do  with  the  preservation  of  the  health  and 
strength.  "  A  merry  heart  doeth  good  like  a 
medicine."  In  war,  the  men  who  endure  the  long 
marches  and  the  exposure  and  who  recover  from 
wounds  are  the  men  who  keep  brave  and  hopeful 
hearts  in  their  bosoms.  No  one  can  doubt  that 
unceasing  toil — toil  relieved  by  no  days  of  rest — 
breaks  the  spirits  and  renders  the  toilers  despond- 
ent and  gloomy.  A  traveller  in  France  speaks 
of  the  "  moroseness  occasioned  "  among  some  of 
the  laboring  classes  "  by  the  want  of  a  Sabbath." 
Low-spirited  and  despondent  drudges,  such  as 
laborers  must  become  when  doomed  to  unbroken 
toil,  lose  their  strength  and  are  short-lived.  The 
Sabbath,  by  affording  a  day  of  rest  to  which 
weary  men  can  look  forward  with  joy,  and  by 
diverting  the  mind  from  the  irksome  round  of  toil 
to  social  and  religious  privileges,  adds  enjoyment 
to  life,  and  so  preserves  the  health  and  strength 

(34) 


The  Sabbath  and  Mans  Physical  Welfare.    69 

of  the  body.  On  this  account  alone  it  is  neces- 
sary to  that  vast  majority  of  mankind  who  must 
earn  their  bread  by  manual  labor. 

It  is  evident  that  the  Sabbath  is  necessary  to 
the  physical   welfare  of  man.     Without  it  it  is 
impossible  for  him  •  to  gain  and  preserve  bodily 
health  and  vigor.     Without  these  he  can  never 
reach  the  high  destiny  for  which  he  was  intended, 
but  must  remain  the  weak  and  degraded  creature 
which  he  appears  in  many   heathen   lands.     In 
man's  physical  constitution  God  has  given  promise 
of  his    purpose   to  establish    a  weekly  Sabbath. 
The  heathen,  who  have  only  the  light  of  nature, 
have   had  a    dim    perception   of   its    necessity. 
"  Where  the  true  religion  has  been  unknown,  it 
has  always  been  found  necessary  to  appoint,  by 
.some  constituted  authority,  a  certain  number  of 
holidays,  which  have  often,  even  in  heathen  coun- 
tries, exceeded,  rarely  anywhere  have  fallen  short 
of,   the    number    of    God's    instituted    Sabbaths. 
The  animal  and  mental,  the  bodily  and  spiritual 
natures  of  man  alike  demand  them.     Even  Plato 
deemed    the    appointment    of   such    days    of    so 
benign  and  gracious  a  tendency  that  he  ascribed 
them  to  that  pity  which  the  gods  have  for  man- 
kind, born  to  painful  labor,  that  they  might  have 
an  ease  and  cessation  from  their  toils.    And  what 
is  this  but  an  experimental  testimony  to  the  truth 

(35) 


70  Necessity  of  the  Sahhath. 

of  God's  having  ordered  his  work  of  creation 
with  a  view  to  the  appointment  of  such  an  insti- 
tution in  providence,  and  to  his  wisdom  and 
goodness  in  having  done  so?  ...  It  seems  as 
if  God,  in  the  appointment  of  this  law,  had  taken 
special  precautions  against  the  attempts  which  he 
foresaw  would  be  made  to  get  free  of  the  institu- 
tion, and  that  on  this  account  he  laid  its  founda- 
tions deep  in  the  original  framework  and  constitu- 
tion of  nature."*  In  quoting  these  sentences  from 
Prof.  Fairbairn,  we  anticipate  somewhat  our  con- 
clusion, for  at  this  stage  of  the  argument  we 
claim  only  that,  since  the  Sabbath  is  necessary  to 
man's  physical  welfare,  it  is  probable  that  God 
has  established  it.  A  benevolent  deity  would 
not  fail  in  revealing  to  us  whatever  it  is  necessary 
for  us  to  know  more  fully  than  it  can  be  learned 
from  the  light  of  nature.  Whenever  he  creates 
a  need  he  invariably  follows  it  with  the  creation 
of  a  suitable  supply.  The  promise  of  a  Sabbath 
which  he  has  thus  written  upon  the  constitution 
of  things  he  will  surely  fulfill  in  his  revelation  to 
man. 

*  Fairbairn's  "  Typology,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  116-120. 


(36) 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE     SABBATH     NECESSARY     TO     MAN's     INTELLECTUAL 
WELFARE. 

*'  In  the  world  there  is  nothing  great  but  man  ; 
In  man  there  is  nothing  great  but  mind." 

The  favorite  aphorism  of  Sir  William  Hamilton, 
which  we  have  taken  as  a  motto  for  this  chapter, 
is  not  true  unless  the  word  "  mind "  is  so  used 
as  to  include  all  the  faculties  of  the  soul.  The 
intellect  is  not  the  only  great  thing  in  man ;  he 
has  other  faculties  even  more  worthy  of  attention 
and  admiration.  And  yet  it  would  be  difficult  to 
overestimate  the  importance  of  the  human  intel- 
lect as  a  power  in  the  world,  or  in  its  relation  to 
the  progress  of  the  race.  In  the  last  chapter  it 
was  made  to  appear  that  man  could  do  little  with- 
out proper  attention  to  his  physical  nature.  We 
now  go  a  step  higher,  and  put  forth  the  claim 
that  he  is  dependent  upon  his  intellectual  powers 
not  only  for  material  progress,  but  also  for  ad- 
vancement in  morals  and  religion.  It  is  by  the 
intellect  that  the  truths  taught  by  nature  are 
discovered,  and  even  revealed  truth  must  be 
apprehended  by  the  intellect  before  it  can  affect 

(37) 


72  Necessity/  of  the  Sahhath. 

the  heart  and  life.  There  could  be  no  progress 
for  a  race  of  idiots,  even  if  it  were  possible  to 
suppose  them  endowed  with  physical  perfection 
and  moral  sensibility. 

Consider  the  greatness  and  glory  of  the  human 
intellect  as  they  are  manifested  in  its  intrinsic 
nature,  its  grand  achievements  and  its  limitless 
possibilities.  Is  it  conceivable  that  God  would 
create  anything  so  noble  as  the  human  intellect 
and  not  make  provision  for  its  proper  develop- 
ment ?  And  besides  its  intrinsic  value,  we  must 
remember  that  it  is  at  the  foundation  of  all  social, 
moral  and  religious  progress,  both  for  the  indi- 
vidual and  the  race.  If  men  are  placed  in  such 
conditions  that  their  minds  cannot  be  cultivated, 
they  must  forever  remain  in  degradation.  It  must 
not  be  supposed  that  the  Creator  has  intended 
that  only  a  few  minds  shall  be  cultivated.  While 
it  is  true  that  the  great  thinkers  of  the  world  are 
few,  and  that  most  of  the  thinking  has  been  done 
by  those  who  were  thus  endowed  above  their 
fellows,  it  does  not  follow  that  any  mind  should  ^ 
be  left  Avithout  some  measure  of  cultivation. 
God  has  given  intellects  to  all  men,  and  while 
they  differ  much  in  power,  it  is  not  only  the  in- 
alienable right  of  all  to  enjoy  the  means  of 
growth,  but  is  an  absolute  necessity  to  the  eleva- 
tion of  the  race. 

(38) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Intellectual  Welfare.  73 

Now  the  one  means  by  which  the  mind  grows 
is  exercise.  Men  must  think,  if  their  thinking 
powers  are  to  be  developed.  Time  and  opportun- 
ity must  be  given  for  the  exercise  of  their  minds, 
or  they  will  inevitably  fall  into  stagnation.  Per- 
ception, memory,  imagination,  reason,  must  all  be 
exercised  or  they  will  become  dormant.  They 
must  have  proper  objects  on  which  to  act,  time 
in  which  to  act  and  freedom  from  distraction 
while  acting. 

How  are  these  conditions  to  be  secured  for  men 
who  labor  with  their  hands  ?  Let  us  remember 
that  these  constitute,  and  must  ever  constitute, 
the  great  majority  of  the  race.  Hence,  in  discuss- 
ing a  question  like  this,  they  are  the  first  to  be 
considered.  Let  us  suppose  that  they  are  com- 
pelled to  work  every  day ;  what  must  be  their 
mental  condition?  In  most  cases  no  time  could 
be  procured  for  mental  improvement;  but  even 
if  there  were  time,  there  would  be  no  strength. 
Every  one  who  has  had  experience  knows  that  it 
is  impossible  to  use  the  mind  to  any  good  pur- 
pose when  the  body  is  exhausted  with  manual 
toil.  Labor  is  honorable,  but  the  inevitable  tend- 
ency of  protracted  and  exhausting  labor  is  to 
dull  the  mental  faculties.  A  human  being  has 
only  a  limited  amount  of  force  or  energy,  and  if 
it  is  all  expended  in  physical  labor,  nothing  is  left 

(39) 


74  Necessity  of  the  Sahhath. 

with  which  to  carry  on  mental  exercises.  This 
is  often  forgotten.  Persons  who  have  had  no 
experience  sometimes  wonder  why  laboring  men 
do  not  use  their  evenings  for  mental  improvement. 
The  fact  is  that  in  most  cases  it  is  simply  impos- 
sible ;  after  their  day's  work  is  done  they  have 
not  the  requisite  strength  and  energy.  This  is 
certain  to  be  the  case  with  those  who  are  doomed 
to  toil  continuously  day  after  day.  They  will 
soon  become  so  enfeebled  that  every  particle  of 
their  force  will  be  exhausted  in  performing  their 
daily  round  of  toil.  The  inevitable  consequence 
of  unceasing  toil  is  intellectual  degradation. 
Under  such  conditions  men  will  become  ignorant, 
stupid  and  brutish.  Their  minds  will  be  dwarfed 
and  their  sensibilities  blunted,  until  they  are  little 
better  than  beasts  of  burden.  The  noble  temple 
of  the  intellect,  which  our  Maker  has  planned  for 
every  man,  is  either  never  built  or  soon  becomes 
a  shattered  and  desolate  ruin. 

This  is  the  outlook  for  the  mass  of  mankind 
unless  a  portion  of  their  time  can  be  redeemed 
from  toil  and  employed  in  exercises  which  are 
adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  their  mental  powers. 
No  one  can  believe  that  it  is  or  ever  has  been  the 
divine  intention  to  doom  intelligent  creatures  to 
such  a  life.  We  are  created  for  something  better 
than  a  life  that  crushes  the  intellect  and  leaves 

(40) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Intellectual  Welfare,  75 

only  a  jaded  animal.  Here,  then,  is  a  great  want 
which  can  be  supplied  only  by  having  a  part  of 
the  time  left  free  from  ordinary  labor. 

We  claim  that  this  want  is  met  in  the  institu- 
tion of  a  weekly  Sabbath.    In  this,  two  necessary 
provisions  are  made.     In  the  first  place,  sufficient 
time  is  given  for  study  and  thought,  so  that  one 
who  uses  it  well  may  have  a  richly-stored  mind 
and    well-developed    intellectual    powers.     This 
time  should  be  so  free  from  toil,  and  even  from 
its  physical  effects,  that  the  hardest  worker  will 
have  time  to  devote  to  intellectual  pursuits.    One 
day  in  seven  does  not  seem  much  for  such  a  pur- 
pose, but  in  reality  it  is  a  great  deal.     Suppose  a 
man  to  live  seventy  years,  and  to  be  engaged  in 
manual  labor  or  in  business  from  his  fourteenth 
year.     During  those  fifty-six  years   of  toil,  his 
Sabbaths  would  amount,  in  the  aggregate,  to  eight 
years.     If  he  had  a  fair  education  for  a  boy  of 
his  age  at  fourteen,  eight  years  more  for  study 
and   thought  would   enable  him  to  make    great 
mental  progress.     Of  course,  he  could  not  be  a 
specialist  in  any  department  of  investigation,  but  * 
he  could  be  a  well-informed  and  intelligent  man. 

In  the  second  place,  the  Sabbath  furnishes 
means  for  intellectual  improvement  through  the 
ministrations  of  the  pulpit  and  the  instruction  of 
the   Sabbath-school.     Here  the  grandest  themes, 

(41) 


76  Necessity  of  the  Sabhath. 

those  best  calculated  to  enlarge  the  mind,  to 
quicken  the  perceptions,  to  strengthen  the  reason 
and  to  inspire  the  imagination,  are  discussed. 
Relative  to  the  influence  of  pulpit  instruction, 
Dr.  Spring  says  :  "  Many  a  sleeping  genius,  re- 
posing within  the  curtains  of  its  own  unconscious 
powers,  has  been  awakened  to  hope  and  action  by 
the  instructions  of  the  sanctuary.  It  were  a 
curious  and  not  unprofitable  inquiry  to  institute, 
How  many  well-educated  men  in  Christian  lands 
have  received  the  first  impulse  and  suggestion  in 
their  lofty  career  from  the  instructions  of  the 
Sabbath?"*  In  this  country  these  are  supple- 
mented by  books  and  periodicals  almost  without 
number,  so  cheap  that  they  are  within  reach  of 
any  industrious  man  who  really  desires  them. 

It  will  be  objected  that  men  who  have  the 
Sabbath  do  not  use  it  or  any  part  of  it  for  mental 
improvement ;  that  most  of  them  prefer  to  spend 
it  either  in  absolute  idleness  or  in  seeking  amuse- 
ment. This  may  be  true,  but  it  has  no  relation 
to  the  present  discussion.  We  are  not  here  dis- 
cussing the  proper  method  of  observing  the  Sab- 
bath ;  we  are  simply  trying  to  show  that  days  of 
cessation  from  ordinary  toil  are  absolutely  neces- 
sary to  the  proper  development  of  the  mind.     If 

*  Quoted  in  "  The  Sabbath  for  Man,"  p.  225. 
(42) 


The  Sabbath  and  Mans  Intellectual  Welfare.  77 

men  have  the  days  and  will  not  use  them  rightly, 
it  is  only  one  instance  in  many  of  the  way  in 
which  they  disregard  their  privileges  and  abuse 
their  blessings.  The  value  of  the  opportunity  is 
not  diminished,  and  it  does  not  follow  that  it 
should  be  taken  away  from  those  who  know  how 
to  use  it. 

So  far  we  have  discussed  the  subject  chiefly  in 
its  relation  to  those  engaged  in  manual  labor. 
What  has  been  said  of  them  applies  with  equal 
force  to  men  engaged  in  most  kinds  of  business. 
The  farmer,  the  tradesman,  the  railroad  employe, 
the  skilled  mechanic,  and  others  who  combine 
some  measure  of  mental  activity  with  their  man- 
ual toil,  have  exactly  the  same  need  of  time  for 
intellectual  improvement.  Ordinarily  the  mental 
exercise  required  in  their  business  develops  but 
one  faculty,  and  that  perhaps  not  the  highest. 
They  may  be,  and  often  are,  more  devoid  of  gen- 
eral intelligence  and  mental  breadth  than  the 
common  laborer  or  the  factory  operative.  Their 
hours  of  work  are  longer,  and  their  absorption  in 
business  more  complete.  Merchants,  bankers, 
lawyers,  physicians,  ministers,  teachers,  officers  of 
the  great  corporations,  and  others  whose  w^ork  is 
almost  wholly  mental,  need  the  Sabbath  more  for 
physical  than  for  intellectual  reasons.  They  can 
usually    command    time    for   any    line    of  study 

(43) 


78  Necessity  of  the  Sabbath. 

which  they  choose  to  follow.  And  yet  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  their  minds  are  made  broader  and 
are  better  developed  by  the  complete  change  of 
occupation  for  which  the  Sabbath  affords  oppor- 
tunity. That  is  the  true  rest  of  the  mind.  In 
our  waking  hours  it  never  ceases  its  activity,  but 
it  needs  change.  If  it  does  not  have  it,  if  it  is 
kept  continually  upon  the  strain  in  one  direction, 
the  effects  are  disastrous.  These  are,  no  doubt, 
the  immediate  results  of  physical  derangement; 
but  as  they  are  often  manifested  through  the 
mind,  we  may  speak  of  them  in  this  connection. 
Only  a  few  of  the  great  number  of  facts  at  hand 
can  be  referred  to. 

Sir  David  Wilkie,  the  celebrated  painter,  said 
that  "  those  artists  who  wrought  on  Sunday  were 
soon  disqualified  from  working  at  all."  The  editor 
of  the  London  Standard,  after  many  years  of 
observation  among  intellectual  workers,  said,  "We 
never  knew  a  man  work  seven  days  a  week  who 
did  not  kill  himself  or  kill  his  mind."  *  The  Rev. 
J.  Scott,  of  Hull,  England,  in  a  discourse  on  Wil- 
berforce  said,  "  I  have  heard  him  assert  that  he 
never  could  have  sustained  the  labor  and  stretch 
of  mind  required  in  his  early  political  life,  if  it 
had  not  been  for  the  rest  of  the  Sabbaths ;  and 


^  See  Gilfillan,  p.  181. 
(44) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Intellectual  Welfare.  79 

that  he  could  name  several  of  his  contemporaries 
in  the  vortex  of  political  cares,  whose  minds  had 
actually  given  way  under  the  stress  of  intellectual 
labor,  so  as  to  bring  on  a  premature  death,  or  the 
still  more  dreadful  catastrophe  of  insanity  and 
suicide,  who,  humanly  speaking,  might  have  been 
preserved  in  health  if  they  would  have  but  con- 
scientiously observed  the  Sabbath."  Dr.  Car- 
penter, to  whom  we  have  referred  in  the  pre- 
vious chapter,  said  in  a  letter  to  a  friend,  "  My 
own  experience  is  very  strong  as  to  the  import- 
ance of  the  complete  rest  and  change  of  thought 
once  in  the  week."  *  Dr.  Farre,  in  his  report  on 
the  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  bore  still  stronger 
testimony  to  the  value  of  the  weekly  rest  for  the 
mind.t  "A  distinguished  merchant,  who  for 
twenty  years  did  a  vast  amount  of  business,  re- 
marked to  Dr.  Edwards,  '  Had  it  not  been  for  the 
Sabbath  I  should  no  doubt  have  been  a  maniac 
long  ago.'  This  was  mentioned  in  a  company  of 
merchants,  when  one  remarked,  '  That  is  the  case 

exactly  with  Mr. .    He  is  one  of  our  greatest 

importers.  He  used  to  say  that  the  Sabbath  was 
the  best  day  in  the  week  to  plan  successful  voy- 
ages, showing  that  his  mind  had  no  Sabbath.    He 


Woolwich  Lectures  on  the  Sabbath,  p 
See  Report,  p.  119. 


.53. 
(45) 


80  Necessity/  of  the  Sahhath. 

has  been  in  the  insane  hospital  for  years,  and  will 
probably  die  there.' "  Bearing  directly  upon  this 
point  is  the  curious  and  somewhat  startling  fact 
that  among  those  nations  of  Europe  where  the 
Lord's  day  is  least  observed,  the  Sabbath-keeping 
Jews  are  gaining  and  holding  far  more  than  their 
share  of  the  positions  which  require  intellectual 
vigor.  In  Germany  they  control  ninety  per  cent, 
of  the  newspapers ;  a  large  proportion  of  the 
teachers,  lawyers  and  physicians  are  Jews ;  they 
are  surpassing  all  others  in  the  acquisition  of 
wealth ;  and  they  are  largely  represented  in  the 
German  Parliament.  In  France  there  is  the  same 
state  of  things  in  respect  to  intellectual  pursuits, 
while  the  influence  of  the  Jews  in  the  govern- 
ment is  much  greater  than  in  Germany.*  Who 
can  doubt  that  their  power  to  outstrip  others  in 
the  race  for  intellectual  pre-eminence  is  in  part 
due  to  their  habit  of  keeping  a  weekly  Sabbath  ? 
At  any  rate  they  are  not  having  the  same  success 
in  England  and  America,  where  the  Lord's  day  is 
more  generally  observed. 

The  rest  and  change  which  the  Sabbath  brings 
to  brain-workers  are  absolutely  essential  to  the 
health  of  the  mind.     While  those  who  labor  with 


*  See  *'  The  Sabbath  for  Man,"  p.  146,  and  Appendix  35  for 
authorities. 
(46) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Intellectual  Welfare.  81 

their  hands  need  to  cease  from  their  ordinary  toil 
in  order  that  they  may  get  time  and  opportunity 
to  exercise  their  minds;  those  who  do  mental 
work  need  to  cease  from  it  that  their  minds  may 
be  rested  by  a  complete  change  of  occupation. 
The  day  of  rest  is  equally  essential  to  the  wel- 
fare of  both.  It  is  more  than  expedient  to 
observe  it.  If  the  minds  of  men  are  to  be  what 
God  intended  them  to  be,  this  weekly  rest-day  is 
a  necessity.  We  cannot  believe  that  a  good  and 
benevolent  Creator  would  leave  this  noble  part  of 
our  nature,  created  in  his  own  image,  without 
adequate  provision  for  its  development.  May  we 
not  reasonably  infer  that  he  has  appointed  a  Sab- 
bath, since  it  is  found  to  be  so  necessary  to  our 
intellectual  welfare  ? 


(47) 


CHAPTEPt  IV. 


THE    SABBATH    NECESSARY    TO    MAN's    MORAL    AND 
RELIGIOUS   WELFARE. 


We  know  and,  what  is  better,  we  feel  inwardly  that  religion 
is  the  basis  of  civil  society,  and  the  source  of  all  good  and  of 
all  comfort. — Burke. 

Human  happiness  has  no  perfect  security  but  freedom  ;  free- 
dom none  but  virtue  ;  virtue  none  but  knowledge  ;  and  neither 
freedom  nor  virtue  nor  knowledge  has  any  vigor  or  immortal 
hope,  except  in  the  principles  of  the  Christian  faith  and  in  the 
sanctions  of  the  Christian  religion. — Josiah  Quincy. 

Man  is  a  religious  being.  He  feels  himself  to 
be  related  in  some  way  to  God — the  Creator, 
Preserver  and  Sovereign  of  the  universe.  Re- 
ligion is  the  recognition  and  expression  of  our 
obligation  to  worship  and  obey  the  supreme 
Being.  This  feeling  is  one  of  the  deepest  in- 
stincts of  our  nature.  It  is  the  determining 
element  of  human  character.  It  persists  in  spite 
of  every  influence  calculated  to  destroy  it.  It 
manifests  itself  on  every  page  of  human  history. 
Whatever  touches  the  religious  nature  arouses 
the  bitterest  hatred  or  the  strongest  enthusiasm. 
Men  never  hate  one  another  as  they  do  when 
their  religious  opinions  clash.  For  proof  of  this, 
note  the  attitude  of  the  Jews  toward  Christ,  and 

(48) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Moral  Welfare.      83 

the  religious  wars,  and  the  persecutions  of  oppos- 
ing sects.     So  strong  is  this  feeling  that  it  over- 
rides every  sentiment  of  justice  or  pity,  and  men 
have  hated  and  slaughtered  one  another  in  the 
name  of  incarnate  love.     On  the  other  hand,  men 
will  do  more  in  order  to  be  true  to  their  religious 
feeling  than  for  any  other  purpose.     They  have 
fought   harder,  paid    more    dearly,  and  suffered 
more  in  order  to  maintain  their  religious  convic- 
tions than  to  gain  any  other  end.   All  this  shows, 
not  that  religion  is  a  bad  or  worthless  thing,  but 
that  the  religious  feeling  is  the  strongest  instinct 
of  our  nature.     It  is  an  essential  element  in  the 
character  of  a  human   being.     It  is    the    distin- 
guishing mark  which,  more  than  anything  else, 
separates  man  from  all  other  earthly  creatures. 
It  is  a  universal  feeling.     Men  of  every  age  and 
every  nation  and  of  every   grade  of  civilization 
manifest  it.     They  all  believe  in  the  existence  of 
a  being  or  beings  different  from  themselves,  more 
powerful  and  better  or  worse.     They  believe  in  a 
future  life  and  another  world  than   this.     They 
believe  that  that  world  and  that  life  have  some 
sort  of  connection  with  the  present.     They  feel 
that  spiritual  beings  exercise  some  sort  of  con- 
trol   over   the  affairs  of  men  and  in    some  way 
shape  their  destiny.    Thus  they  all  have  worship, 
and  all  try  to  please  their  divinities.     The  forms 

(49) 


84  Necessit?/  of  the  Sahhath. 

in  which  the  religious  feeling  manifests  itself  are 
often  rude  and  pitiably  grotesque ;  for  the  under- 
standing is  darkened,  the  judgment  perverted 
and  the  heart  corrupted.  But  being  everywhere 
manifested  proves  it  to  be  a  part  of  universal 
human  nature.  It  belongs  to  the  very  nature 
of  man.  One  who  has  no  religion  is  something 
less  or  something  worse  than  a  man.  Any  pro- 
vision for  man's  deepest  needs,  any  system  of 
training  which  is  to  bring  him  to  the  highest  state 
of  development,  must  not  overlook  his  religious 
nature. 

Man  is  also  a  moral  being.  By  this  we  mean 
that  there  is  in  him  an  intuition  of  right  and 
wrong.  He  is  not  able  to  judge  correctly  the 
moral  quality  of  every  action  and  every  state  of 
mind.  In  special  cases  his  judgment  is  as  likely 
to  be  erroneous  as  true.  Here  he  is  almost 
wholly  dependent  upon  training  and  surround- 
ings, and  his  opinions  are  simply  conventional. 
But  everywhere  and  always  he  does  know  that 
there  is  an  eternal  and  indestructible  difference 
between  right  and  wrong.  Call  it  what  you 
will — conscience,  moral  sense  or  instinct — there 
is  something  within  him  which  approves  certain 
courses  of  conduct,  and  which  condemns  others, 
because  they  seem  to  him  right  or  wrong.    Left 

to  himself  he  brings  actions  to  this  test  sooner 
(50) 


The  Sabbath  and  Mans  Moral  Welfare.      85 

than  to  the  test  of  expediency  or  of  personal 
advantage.  It  is  the  basis  of  all  moral  instruc- 
tion, but  is  not  dependent  upon  it.  It  exists  in- 
dependently of  antecedents  or  training  or  sur- 
roundings. The  only  effect  which  instruction  can 
have  upon  this  moral  sense  is  so  to  enlighten  the 
judgment  as  to  make  it  capable  of  applying  it 
wisely  in  the  conduct  of  life.  This  sense  of  right 
and  wrong  is  universal,  as  we  have  already 
hinted.  No  race  of  men  has  ever  been  found 
who  do  not  possess  it  in  some  rudimentary  form. 
Its  strength  and  its  universality  show  that  it  is 
an  essential  part  of  universal  human  nature. 
No  one  questions  the  importance  of  considering 
it  in  any  system  of  training  or  education  for  man. 
Even  those  philosophers  who  deny  the  reality  of 
the  religious  instinct,  and  say  that  religion  is  a 
source  of  injury  to  man,  admit  the  necessity  of 
moral  training.  They  cannot  help  seeing  that 
upon  the  moral  character  of  man  more  than  upon 
anything  else  depend  his  earthly  happiness  and 
the  welfare  of  society.  Herbert  Spencer  finds 
fault  with  our  present  systems  of  education  be- 
cause they  take  too  little  account  of  the  moral 
character,  and  strongly  maintains  that  the  devel- 
opment of  this  should  be  the  aim  of  all  education.* 

*"  Education,"  chap.  iii. 

(5J) 


/ 


86  Necessity  of  the  Sabbath. 

In  this  view  he  is  undoubtedly  correct,  though  we 
cannot  agree  with  him  in  his  disregard  of  the  re- 
ligious instinct. 

Religion  and  morality  cannot  he  altogether 
separated.  It  is  true  that  morality  relates  to  our 
conduct  as  it  affects  directly  our  fellow  men,  while 
religion  is  a  matter  between  man  and  his  God ; 
and  for  this  reason  many  have  considered  them  as 
independent  of  each  other.  We  have  undertaken 
to  treat  them  both  in  this  chapter  because  we  be- 
lieve them  to  be  inseparable.  There  may  be  a 
kind  of  morality  without  religion.  Considera- 
tions of  expediency  would  lead  men  to  treat  one 
another  with  justice  and  perhaps  with  kindness, 
and  would  deter  them  from  the  infliction  of  self- 
injury.  But  that  is  certainly  a  superficial  view 
which  identifies  expediency  or  enlightened  self- 
ishness with  morality.  It  throws  out  of  account 
altogether  the  instinctive  sense  of  right  and 
wrong.  It  ignores  the  fact  that  men  feel  guilty 
or  innocent  according  to  the  quality  of  their 
actions  and  not  according  to  their  results.  That 
morality  must  be  of  a  low  order  which  does  not 
recognize  a  sense  of  obligation  higher  than  that 
which  we  feel  toward  ourselves  and  our  fellow 
men. 

That  religion  cannot  be  rightly  separated  from 
morality  is  admitted  by  all.     That  it  has  often 

(52) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Moral  Welfare.      87 

been  so  separated  in  the  history  of  mankind  does 
not  alter  the  fact  that  it  ought  not  to  be.  Re- 
ligion divorced  from  morality  is  only  a  hideous 
shadow  of  true  religion.  It  is  a  monstrous  per- 
version of  the  religious  instinct.  It  is  religion 
touching  only  one  side  of  man's  nature,  and  that 
the  side  most  easily  misled  and  corrupted.  It  is 
putting  it  wholly  in  the  sphere  of  the  emotions 
and  the  imagination,  and  leaving  out  of  account 
the  will  and  the  conscience.  It  is  denying  the 
right  of  that  which  was  meant  to  govern  the  con- 
duct to  have  anything  to  do  with  the  conduct. 
For  our  obligation  to  God  covers  and  absorbs  all 
other  obligations.  It  does  not  obliterate  but 
strengthens  them.  When  a  man  rightly  appre- 
ciates his  obligations  to  God,  he  feels  bound  to  do 
right  in  every  relation  in  life.  He  sees  in  him- 
self and  in  his  fellow  men  creations  of  God 
whose  highest  welfare  he  is  bound  to  consider. 
He  serves  God  by  serving  his  creatures.  He 
knows  that  every  sin  against  them  is  a  sin  against, 
God.  Thus  religion  and  morality  are  inseparable. 
Man  derives  his  chief  importance  from  the  pos- 
session of  a  religious  nature.  His  sense  of  right 
and  wrong,  his  feeling  that  there  is  a  God  whom 
he  must  worship  and  obey,  and  the  fore-gleams 
of  immortality  which  come  to  him,  all  indicate  for . 
him  a  nobler  destiny  than  any  other  earthly  being 

(53) 


88  Necessity  of  the  Sahhath. 

can  claim.  These  spiritual  faculties  separate  him 
from  the  brute  creation  by  a  wide  chasm.  The 
lower  animals  may  have  intellect,  they  show 
some  forms  of  sensibility,  they  seem  even  to  will, 
but  they  have  never,  in  any  instance,  felt  "  the 
power  of  the  world  to  come."  When  man,  there- 
fore, ignores  his  religious  nature  he  ignores  his 
crown  and  glory.  To  care  alone  for  the  body  is 
to  reduce  himself  to  the  level  of  other  animals. 
To  train  the  intellect  alone  puts  him  in  the  same 
ine  with  educated  pigs  and  trained  dogs,  though 
we  will  grant  that  he  is  at  the  head  of  the  line. 
The  grandest  possibilities  of  man  lie  in  the  culti- 
vation of  his  religious  nature.  This  is  true  for 
two  reasons  besides  the  one  already  mentioned : 
First,  because  his  usefulness  to  his  fellow  men 
and  his  happiness  in  this  life  depend  more  upon 
what  he  is  religiously  and  morally  than  upon  any- 
thing else.  Justice,  truth  and  purity,  mercy, 
love  and  kindness  practiced  toward  others,  peace 
in  the  heart  and  hope  for  the  future, — these  are 
all  the  outgrowth  of  true  religion.  Second,  be- 
cause man's  eternal  destiny  is  wrapped  up  in  the 
possibilities  of  his  religious  nature.  In  a  universe 
under  moral  law  nothing  else  could  determine  it. 
Not  physical  perfection,  not  intellectual  breadth 
and  power,  but  faith  in   God  and  love  for  man, 

will  secure  immortal  glory. 
(54) 


The  Sahhath  and  Maris  Moral  Welfare,      89 

Short-sighted  and  foolish  beyond  all  descrip- 
tion is  any  system  of  training  which  neglects  the 
religious  nature  of  man.  Without  this  he  can 
be  only  partially  fitted  for  his  present  life,  and  is 
altogether  unfitted  for  the  life  to  come.  Taking 
into  account  the  whole  sweep  of  his  destiny,  to 
attempt  to  prepare  him  for  it  without  religious 
training  would  be  like  preparing  a  carrier-pigeon 
for  his  work  by  cutting  off  his  wings,  or  like 
making  one  a  first-class  athlete  by  compelling 
him  to  lie  upon  his  back  until  his  muscles  were 
withered  and  flabby. 

Now,  we  hold  that  the  religious  training  of 
man  is  utterly  impossible  without  the  Sabbath. 
In  a  world  of  sin,  the  inevitable  tendency  of  con- 
stant occupation  with  earthly  affairs  is  to  make 
men  forget  God  and  their  own  eternal  destiny. 
This  hardly  needs  proof;  the  mere  statement  of 
it  is  enough  to  secui'e  its  acceptance.  It  is  in  the 
nature  of  things  that  it  should  be  so,  and  it  has 
been  the  unvarying  experience  of  those  who  have 
tried  it.  If  the  knowledge  of  God  is  to  be  kept 
alive  among  men,  and  if  they  are  to  perform 
their  duties  to  him,  a  day  must  be  set  apart  for 
the  purpose.  Their  thoughts  must  be  called  off 
from  their  ordinary  avocations,  and  time  must  be 
given  for  religious  instruction  and  the  exercises 
of  worship. 

(55) 


90  Necessity  of  ihe  Sahhath. 

Let  us  look  at  these  thoughts  a  little  longer, 
taking  them  one  by  one.     The  Sabbath  itself  is  a 
necessary  reminder   of  the  fact  that  there  is    a 
God,  that  he  rules  in  heaven  and  in  earth,  that  we 
are  the  creatures  of  his  hand  and  the  objects  of 
his  care,  that  we  are  under  his  government  and 
accountable  to  him,  that  we  are  transgressors  of 
his  law  and  exposed  to  his  wrath  but  that  he 
has  offered  us  salvation  in  Christ,  and  that  we 
shall  at  last  be  assigned  by  him  an  eternal  des- 
tiny according  to  the  deeds  done  in  the   body. 
When  offices  and  shops  are  closed,  when  clatter- 
ing machinery  and   clanging  hammers   are  still, 
when  the  plow  stands  in  the  furrow  or  the  reaper 
in  the  field,  and  when  beasts  of  burden  rest  in 
their  stalls,  men  ask  what  it  means.     They  get 
their  answer  in  the  statement  that  it  is  God's 
day,  the  day  on  which  to  look  after  the  interests 
•  of  the  soul.     Thus  God  and  eternity  are  kept  be- 
.  fore  them  in  the  day  itself. 

Again,  it  is  necessary  to  the  maintenance  of  re- 
ligion in  the  soul  that  more  time  should  be  given 
to  meditation  upon  the  truths  of  God  and  the 
duties  of  life  than  can  be  secured  in  the  busy 
whirl  of  secular  occupation.  The  Sabbath  fur- 
nishes opportunity  for  thought  upon  God,  life, 
death,  and  duty,  which  would  otherwise  be  denied 
to  most  men.  Just  as  men  working  in  the  poison- 
(56) 


The  Sahhath  and  Maris  Moral  Welfare.      91 

ous  gases  of  a  deep  well  must,  at  frequent 
intervals,  come  to  the  surface  for  fresh  air,  so 
must  we  who  are  immersed  in  secular  toil  have  our 
Sabbath  during  which  we  may  ascend  to  higher 
regions  and  breathe  the  air  of  heaven.  Without 
such  seasons  there  can  be  no  religious  life. 

Again,  if  religion  is  to  be  maintained  among 
men,  they  must  gather  for  public  worship  and  re- 
ligious instruction.  The  great  mass  of  men  must 
have  leaders  and  teachers  in  religion  as  in  other 
things — men  who  are  set  apart  to  the  work  of 
studying  God's  word  in  order  that  they  may  teach 
others.  This  necessity  for  public  worship  and 
religious  instruction  has  always  been  conceded. 
According  to  the  famous  saying  of  Montalembert, 
"  there  can  be  no  religion  without  worship  and 
no  worship  without  Sunday."  It  is  everywhere 
admitted  that  without  time  set  apart  for  this  pur- 
pose, true  religion  would  die  off  the  face  of  the 
earth,  and  men  would  become  heathen  and  bar- 
barians. Dr.  Macleod  expressed  the  common 
sentiment  of  thoughtful  Christians  when  he  said, 
"  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  without  the  Sun- 
day the  Church  of  Christ  could  not,  as  a  visible 
society,  exist  on  the  earth."  Wherever  public 
worship  and  religious  instruction  cease,  having 
once  prevailed  in  a  community,  there  is  a  speedy 
decline  of  godliness  and  morality.     But  how  are 

(57) 


92  Necemty  of  the  Sahhath. 

they  to  be  maintained,  if  men  work  all  days 
alike  ?  What  conceivable  method  of  securing 
them  is  there  except  for  men  to  cease  from  their 
ordinary  work  on  certain  appointed  days  and 
come  together  for  these  purposes  ?  How  other- 
wise could  they  agree  when  to  meet,  or  get  time 
for  meeting  ? 

Again,  these  meetings  for  instruction  and  wor- 
ship should  come  at  regular  and  frequent  inter- 
vals. If  they  come  too  rarely,  the  effect  of  one 
is  lost  before  another  arrives.  If  they  come 
irregularly,  there  would  be  no  general  agreement 
as  to  the  time.  Besides,  we  need  the  power  of 
habit  to  keep  us  up  to  the  mark  in  the  perform- 
ance of  religious  duties. 

For  these  and  other  reasons  which  might  be 
mentioned,  the  Sabbath  is  a  necessity  to  the  re- 
ligious and  moral  welfare  of  man.  A  special 
word  may  be  said  here  with  regard  to  its  moral 
influence.  It  is  sometimes  claimed  that  the  Sab- 
bath has  a  direct  influence  in  keeping  men  moral, 
and  that  the  violation  of  it  tends  to.  gross  immo- 
rality and  often  to  crime.  In  proof  of  this, 
numerous  instances  are  given  of  criminals  who 
have  stated  that  they  entered  upon  the  down- 
Vv^ard  road  by  breaking  the  Sabbath.  This  may 
have  been  true  in  every  case,  and  yet  it  proves 
nothing  concerning  the   moral  influence   of  the 

(58) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Moral  Welfare.      93 

Sabbath.  It  simply  proves,  as  F.  W.  Robertson 
has  pointed  out*  and  as  every  one  ought  to  have 
seen  for  himself,  that  they  had  been  taught  to 
believe  that  Sabbath-breaking  was  a  sin,  and  so 
when  they  broke  the  Sabbath  they  also  impaired 
their  power  to  resist  evil,  as  one  always  does  by 
an  act  he  feels  to  be  wrong.  So  train  a  child 
that  he  believes  dancing  to  be  a  sin  and  he  will, 
if  he  dances,  do  violence  to  his  conscience  and 
weaken  his  moral  character.  An  act  in  itself  per- 
fectly innocent  might  thus  be  spoken  of  by  a 
criminal  as  his  first  sin.  If  he  thought  it  wrong 
it  would  be  a  sin  to  him,  but  that  proves  nothing 
as  to  the  wisdom  or  justice  of  the  law  which  he 
violated.  We  desire  to  establish  nothing  by  false 
arguments.  If  there  were  no  Sabbath,  it  does 
not  follow  that  everybody  would  plunge  headlong 
into  crime.  If  there  were  no  law  against  it,  work- 
ing every  day  in  seven  would  not  be  immoral, 
would  hurt  no  one's  conscience  and  would  not 
tend  directly  to  the  production  of  crime.  We 
believe  that  the  moral  influence  of  the  Sabbath 
is  salutary  and  powerful,  but  we  believe  that  ii 
comes  from  what  is  done  on  that  day,  and 
not  from  what  men  abstain  from  doing.  It  comes 
through  the   influence   of  worship   and   religious 

*  Sermons,  second  series^,  p.  210. 

(59) 


94  Necessity  of  the  Sahhath, 

instruction.   Men  need  to  be  instructed  in  morals. 
Joseph  Cook  forcibly  asks,  "  How   can   men  be 
made  honest  without  a  time  set  apart  for  religious 
culture?"*     Not  long  ago  Dr.  G.  D.  Boardman, 
of   Philadelphia,   suggested  f   the   desirability  of 
establishing  in  that  city  a  Lectureship  of  Practical 
Morals,  for  the  better   instruction  of  the  people 
in  the  duties  of  business  and  social  life.     No  one 
doubted  the  need  of  it  or  its  probable  utility,  but 
there  is  a  general  feeling  that  such  a  work  can 
best  be  done  in  the  pulpit.     It  is  done  there.     No 
one  can  preach  a  complete  gospel  who  does  not 
instruct  men  in  everything  that  relates  to  conduct. 
Thus  the  Sabbath,  through  the  opportunity  which 
it  alone  affords   for   religious  and  moral  instruc- 
tion, is    a  necessity  to    the  religious    nature   of 
man.     Because  we  believe  that  a  true  system  of 
morality  depends  upon  religion,  we  hold  that  the 
Sabbath  is  a  necessity  also  to  his  moral  welfare. 
The  direct  results   of  being  without  a   Sabbath 
would  be  that  the  great  mass  of  mankind  would 
be   without   proper  instruction   concerning   their 
moral    obligations,  and  without   sufficient   incen- 
tive to  fulfill  them  when  known.     Hence  neither 
religion  nor  a  pure  morality  could  be  sustained 


*  Boston  Monday  Lectures,  "Biology,"  p.  162. 
t  Article  in  National  Baptist. 
(60) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Moral  Welfare.      95 

among  men  without  this  institution.  As  one  has 
forcibly  said,  "  you  might  as  well  put  out  the  sun 
and  think  to  enlighteu  the  world  with  tapers, 
destroy  the  attraction  of  gravitation  and  think  to 
wield  the  universe  by  human  powers,  as  to  ex- 
tinguish the  moral  illumination  of  the  Sabbath, 
and  break  this  glorious  main-spring  of  the  moral 
government  of  God,"  and  yet  try  to  maintain  re- 
ligion and  morality  upon  the  earth* 

Is  it  of  any  importance  that  they  should  be 
maintained?  The  question  answers  itself.  Aside 
from  all  regard  for  man's  present  welfare,  it  is 
supremely  important  that  he  should  be  prepared 
for  the  future  life.  He  is  to  live  forever,  and 
whether  he  shall  be  a  lost,  depraved,  degraded 
and  miserable  being,  or  a  being  of  goodness  and 
power  and  glory  and  joy  unspeakable,  depends 
upon  his  religious  and  moral  character  in  this  life. 
Can  we  believe  that  God,  who  created  him  in  his 
own  image  in  order  that  men  might  have  fellow- 
ship with  him,  who  created  him  for  a  spiritual 
life  and  eternal  glory,  who  made  him  so  that  he 
reaches  his  true  destiny  only  in  worshipping  and 
obeying  God — can  we  believe  that  he  would  leave 
man  without  adequate  provision  for  his  spiritual 
and  moral  needs  ? 

*  Quoted  by  Webster  in  his  speech  on  the  Girard  will  case. 

(61) 


96  Necessity  of  the  Sahhath. 

Does  God  create  a  delicaig  and  costly  piece  of 
workmanship  simply  to  see  it  perish  ?  But,  in  the 
present  order  of  things,  we  cannot  see  how  these 
wants  of  man's  nature  can  be  met  without  the 
time  and  opportunity  for  religious  instruction  and 
worship  which  are  afforded  by  the  weekly  Sab- 
bath. To  the  correctness  of  this  position  even 
those  who  would  destroy  the  Sabbath  bear^uni- 
con scions  testimony,  for  they  are  invariably  those 
who  would  destroy  religion.  Voltaire  said, 
'^  There  is  no  hope  of  destroying  the  Chris- 
tian religion  as  long  as  the  Christian  Sabbath 
is  acknowledged  and  kept  by  men  as  a  sacred 
day."  Infidels  and  atheists  feel  that  if  the 
Sabbath  can  be  obliterated,  one  step,  at  least, 
will  be  taken  toward  the  accomplishment  of  their 
main  object.  Their  opinion  is  well  founded. 
Conversely,  since  we  have  shown  that  man  is  a 
religious  being,  that  religion  is  essential  to  his  per- 
fect development  as  a  man  and  is  the  only  means 
by  which  his  eternal  welfare  can  be  secured,  we 
have  established  the  necessity  of  the  Sabbath. 


(62) 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   SABBATH   NECESSARY    TO    MAN's    SOCIAL  WELFARE. 

Have  we  not  all  one  father?  hath  not  one  God  created  us? 
why  do  we  deal  treacherously  every  man  against  his  brother, 
by  profaning  the  covenant  of  our  fathers  ?— Mal.  2 :  10. 

Man  is  not  an  isolated  being.  He  cannot  reach 
his  highest  development  nor   can  he  fulfill   his 
mission  unless  he  is  associated  with  others  of  his 
own  kind.     "  It  is  not  good  to  be   alone."     To 
preserve  his   very   existence  he  must  associate 
with  others   in  the  family   relation.      The   law 
which  binds  him  to  those  outside  of  his  family 
is  almost  as  inexorable.     Progress  is  impossible 
without  the  formation  of  nations  and  communities. 
Those  nations  which  have  been  the  most  firmly 
compacted,  those  in  which  the  national  feeling 
has   been  strongest,  have  made   the  most  rapid 
advancement   and   have  done   the   most   in  the 

world. 

There  is  no  need  to  develop  this  thought,  and 
we  may  pass  at  once  to  the  discussion  of  the 
bearing  of  the  Sabbath  upon  man's  social  welfare. 
Here  we  may  consider  some  things  which  affect 
him  as  an  individual,  but  which  especially  concern 
his   relations   to   others.     Cleanliness  of  person 

7  (63) 


98  Necessity  of  the  Sahhath. 

and  neatness  of  dress  may  be  described  as  per- 
sonal virtues,  but  because  of  our  imitative  tend- 
ency— because  of  the  power  of  fashion — they 
belong  to  this  part  of  our  subject.  They  have 
an  important  relation  to  health,  to  refinement 
of  manners,  to  self-respect,  to  temperance  and 
to  chastity.  Dirt  and  filth  not  only  accompany, 
but  lead  to,  barbarism  and  vice.  Cleanliness 
among  those  who  live  in  whole  or  in  part  by 
manual  toil  is  directly  promoted  by  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Sabbath.  Men  who  labor  contin- 
ually at  that  which  soils  the  clothing  and  dirties 
the  person  soon  come  to  see  no  reason  for  trying 
to  be  neat  and  clean,  since  they  must  so  soon  re- 
turn to  their  work.  But  the  Sabbath,  affording 
both  a  respite  from  toil  and  an  opportunity  for 
family  and  social  intercourse,  offers  a  strong  in- 
ducement to  the  working  man  to  wash  himself 
and  change  his  clothing.  If  you  can  get  a  man 
to  do  this  once  a  week,  you  have  done  much  to 
promote  his  improvement  in  manners  and  morals. 
Then  if  you  can  get  him  to  assemble  for  the 
worship  of  God  with  others  who  have  prepared 
themselves  in  the  same  way,  you  have  done 
more.  Aside  from  the  religious  influence  of  Sab- 
bath-keeping and  church-going,  the  m.ere  habit 
among  a  people  of  going  out  to  meet  one  another, 
clean  washed  and  well  dressed,  is  of  incalculable 

(64) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Social  Welfare.      99 

value.  It  has  a  humanizing,  refining,  elevating 
tendency.  The  influence  of  it  will  go  with  them 
all  the  following  week.  They  cannot  quite  fall 
back  to  the  same  brutish  indifference  to  neatness 
and  good  manners  that  w^ould  otherwise  charac- 
terize them.  Thus  the  Sabbath  is  a  frequently- 
recurring  bright  spot  in  lives  that  would  other- 
wise be  all  dark. 

Again,  the  Sabbath  exerts  a  salutary  influence 
upon  the  family  life.  Marriage  and  the  Sabbath 
were  given  to  man  in  Eden,  and  they  seem  to  be 
so  related  that  one  cannot  be  preserved  in  its 
purity  and  sacredness  without  the  other.  It  is  a 
striking  fact  that  in  Sabbathless  countries  and  in 
countries  where  the  Lord's  day  is  little  regarded, 
free  divorces  or  crimes  against  the  marriage  law, 
or  both,  prevail  to  an  alarming  extent.  This  is 
due  in  part  to  the  absence  of  the  moral  restraints 
of  the  Sabbath,  and  in  part  to  the  fact  that  with- 
out the  leisure  afforded  by  the  Lord's  day  for  the 
cultivation  of  family  affection,  it  is  hardly  possible 
for  husband  and  wife  to  retain  right  relations  to  each 
other.  Dr.  Lowe,  an  eminent  physician  of  Berlin, 
in  a  speech  in  the  German  Parliament  on  a  bill  to 
prevent  employers  from  compelling  their  work- 
men to  work  on  Sunday,  said,  "  I  have  had  occa- 
sion in  my  career  as  a  physician  to  visit  more 
than  nine  thousand  workmen  who  worked  on  Sun- 

(65) 


100  NecesBity  of  the  Sahhath. 

days  in  their  shops  or  at  their  homes,  and  I  have 
it  on  proof  that  Sunday  labor  has  the  most  disas- 
trous effect.  In  their  homes  slovenliness  and 
discord  reign ;  the  life  of  the  wine-shop  has  sup- 
planted the  family  life."* 

Men  who  work  hard,  either  at  manual  labor  or 
in  business,  see  very  little  of  their  families.  A 
tradesman  told  the  writer  that  often  a  whole  week 
passed  when  he  did  not  see  his  children  awake, 
though  he  slept  under  the  same  roof  with  them. 
He  went  away  in  the  morning  before  they  were 
up,  ate  his  dinner  down  town,  and  did  not  return 
until  they  were  in  bed.  Perhaps  not  many  cases 
are  so  bad  as  this ;  but  most  busy  men  see 
very  little  of  their  families  during  the  week. 
When  a  man,  about  to  retire  from  business,  was 
asked  what  he  intended  to  do,  he  replied,  "  I  am 
going  to  get  acquainted  with  my  wife  and  chil- 
dren." It  ought  not  to  require  much  discussion 
to  convince  any  one  that  the  head  of  a  family 
owes  something  more  to  its  members  than  to  pro- 
vide them  with  shelter,  raiment  and  food.  He  is 
responsible  for  their  intellectual,  moral  and  relig- 
ious welfare.  To  fulfill  this  obligation  he  must 
know  them  well,  making  a  careful  study  of  each 
child ;  he  must  superintend  their  school  life ;  and 


*  Quoted  by  Crafts,  "  The  Sabbath  for  Man,"  p.  230. 
(60) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Social  Welfare.    101 

he  must  himself  instruct  them  in  moral  and  re- 
ligious duties.  How  shall  he  get  time  for  these 
things  in  this  busy  world?  Plainly  a  large 
part  of  it  must  be  obtained  on  the  Lord's  day, 
when  ordinary  toil  can  be  laid  aside.  Here  the 
Sabbath  meets  a  great  want  and  touches  human 
society  at  the  very  core  of  its  life.  It  should 
be,  and  may  be,  a  healing  touch,  and  blessed  is 
that  people  where  the  Lord's  day  is  thus  used ; 
for  if  the  family,  which  is  the  heart  of  society, 
is  right,  all  else  will  soon  be  right. 

Again,  the  Sabbath  is  necessary  to  prevent  the 
inordinate  growth  of  class  distinctions.  When 
the  laboring  man  washes  himself  clean  and  puts 
on  his  best  clothes,  he  is  for  the  nonce,  outwardly 
at  least,  on  the  same  level  with  the  rich  man  or 
the  professional  man  who  dresses  alike  on  all 
days.  The  broad  mark  which  distinguishes  them 
as  they  pass  in  the  streets  on  working  days,  on 
the  Lord's  day  is  obliterated.  And  then,  if  they  go 
to  the  house  of  God,  they  meet  there  as  equals. 
"The  rich  and  poor  meet  together;"  and  both 
feel  that  "  the  Lord  is  the  maker  of  them  all."  If 
they  meet  in  the  spirit  which  the  day  was  in- 
tended to  promote,  the  rich  will  be  made  humble 
and  sympathetic,  while  the  poor  will  learn  a  les- 
son of  self-respect.  If  the  day  were  thus  kept 
by  all,  we  should  soon  hear  little  of  the  conflict 

(67) 


102  Necessity  of  the  Sahhath, 

between  labor  and  capital — of  the  hatred  and 
jealousy  on  one  side  and  of  the  contempt  and 
distrust  and  oppression  on  the  other  which  now 
exist. 

In  this  connection  a  word  may  be  said  on  a  re- 
lated subject.  The  Sabbath,  rightly  observed, 
protects  the  poor  man  from  the  greed  and  oppres- 
sion of  the  rich  and  powerful.  If  it  were  not 
for  this,  laboring  men  would  be  compelled  to  toil 
all  days  in  the  week,  whenever  it  suited  the  in- 
terests of  their  employers.  That  this  is  true  may- 
be seen  in  the  action  of  railroad  corporations  and 
horse-car  companies  at  the  present  time.  When 
labor  is  plenty  men  are  at  the  mercy  of  their  em- 
ployers, and  many  of  the  latter  would  force  Sun- 
day work  upon  all  in  their  employ,  if  it  were  prof- 
itable and  any  reasonable  excuse  could  be  found 
for  doing  it.*  In  the  majority  of  cases  no  more 
wages  would  be  paid  for  seven  days'  work  than 
for  six.  As  John  Stuart  Mill,  a  man  who  had 
looked  carefully  into  the  subject,  said  of  a  special 
class,  "  Operatives  are  perfectly  right  in  thinking 
that  if  all  worked  Sunday,  seven  days'  work 
would  have  to  be  given  for  six  days'  wages."  f 

*  In  proof  of  this  assertion  see  the  facts  collected  and  pub- 
lished in  the  documents  of  the  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
Sabbath  Associations. 

fEJsay  ''On  Liberty,"  p.  155. 
(68) 


The  Sabbath  and  Mans  Social  Welfare.    103 

Even  those  who  oppose  the  religious  observance 
of  the  Lord's  day  see  this  danger,  and  infidels 
and  free-thinkers  demand  that  the  right  of  the 
working  man  to  one  day  in  seven  for  rest  and 
recreation  shall  be  secured  by  law.  There 
is  especial  need  for  such  a  demand  in  this  country, 
where  the  greed  for  wealth,  which  is  such  a  uni- 
versal and  absorbing  passion,  would  certainly 
impel  capitalists  to  rob  employes  of  their  weekly 
day  of  rest,  if  it  were  not  secured  to  them  by 
law.  But  it  is  vain  to  hope  that  working  men  can 
retain  Sunday  as  a  day  of  rest  if  its  religious 
sanctions  lare  destroyed.  In  Germany,  in  France, 
and  in  other  countries  where  Sunday  is  a  holiday. 
the  poor  have  no  day  of  rest.  Marj^  Gordon, 
writing  from  Germany  to  The  Advance  of  Chicago, 
after  giving  a  multitude  of  facts  to  sustain  her 
assertion  says,  "  We  believe  it  vain  to  think  of 
introducing  the  diversions  of  the  European  Sab- 
bath without  its  labor.  Once  take  away  the 
sacredness  of  Sunday,  and  you  only  open  another 
twenty-four  hours  to  the  avarice  and  cupidity  of 
man.  This  has  been  the  unfailing  result  both  in 
Catholic  and  Protestant  countries  ;  even  laws  to 
the  contrary  are  of  no  avail."  On  the  strength 
of  abundant  evidence  from  many  countries.  Rev. 
W.  F.  Crafts,  who  quotes  the  above,  says,  "  Those 
who  will  not  have  the  Sabbath  as  a  holy  day  can- 

(69) 


104  Necessity/  of  the  Sahhath. 

not  have  it  long  as  a  rest  day.  When  the  Sab- 
bath is  not  made  a  day  of  prayer,  but  of  play,  it 
soon  becomes  to  the  poor  a  day  of  toil."  *  This 
has  been  very  forcibly  put  by  S.  D.  Waddy,  a 
member  of  the  British  Parliament,  who  says, 
"  Let  Sunday  once  come  to  be  used  by  the  nation 
generally  for  amusements,  and  the  collar  of  work 
will  be  fastened  as  tightly  around  the  necks  of 
the  working  men  on  Sundays  as  on  any  other 
day."  If  the  working  man  would  have  his 
weekly  day  of  rest,  let  him  beware  how  he  dis- 
turbs its  religious  sanctions.  He  should  take  all 
possible  pains  to  preserve  it,  for  since  he  would 
get  no  more  for  six  days'  work  than  for  seven,  it 
is  to  him  clear  gain.  It  is  almost  the  only  means 
he  has  of  preventing  himself  from  sinking  to  the 
level  of  a  beast  of  burden.  It  is  the  one  day  on 
which  he  may  assert  his  equality  with  the  rich, 
having  earned  the  right  to  rest ;  his  one  protec- 
tion against  the  oppression  of  greed ;  his  one 
means  of  improving  his  mind  and  heart. 

There  are  certain  duties  which  men  owe  to  one 
another  which  are  best  performed  on  the  Lord's 
day — which,  indeed,  are  not  likely  to  be  per- 
formed upon  other  days.  Such  are  those  deeds 
of  kindness  by  which  the  brotherhood  of  man  is 


(70) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Social  Welfare.    105 

best  expressed,  and  which  tend  to  unite  closely 
the  different  members  of  society.  On  this  day, 
the  ignorant,  especially  those  ignorant  of  religious 
truth,  may  be  instructed  by  those  who  have  had 
better  opportunities  of  learning,  the  sick  may  be 
visited  by  the  well,  the  afflicted  may  be  com- 
forted by  the  sympathetic,  the  poor  may  be  fed 
by  the  bounty  of  the  rich ;  in  a  word,  those 
works  which  our  Saviour  describes  as  expressing 
the  spirit  which  the  Lord  will  approve  at  the 
judgment  may  be  performed.  They  are  not  to 
be  limited  to  this  day,  but  they  are  especially 
appropriate  to  it.  This  subject  belongs  to  the 
discussion  of  the  proper  method  of  observing  the 
Lord's  day,  but  we  allude  to  it  here  in  order  to 
show  that  such  a  day  is  necessary  for  the  fullest 
expression  and  consequent  cultivation  of  the  feel- 
ing which  must  bind  men  together  in  society. 
Eightly  observed,  this  day  is  the  best  antidote 
to  that  selfishness  and  self-seeking  which  drives 
the  members  of  society  asunder  or  makes  them 
mutually  destructive.  Other  days  are  devoted 
mainly  to  the  pursuit  of  personal  advantage,  and 
if  all  were  alike  devoted  to  this  purpose  how  hard 
and  selfish  men  would  become  !  The  Sabbath  i. 
the  day  on  which  men  are  to  devote  themselve  ■ 
to  the  good  of  others,  and  thus  it  becomes  the 
fostering  parent  of  that  social  sympathy  the  cul- 

(71) 


106  Necessity  of  the  Sahhath. 

tivation  of  which  is  so  necessary  to  the  welfare 
of  the  race. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  speak  at  length  of  the 
salutary  influence  of  the  Sabbath  upon  communi- 
ties and  nations.  These  are  made  up  of  individ- 
uals, and  must  have  the  character  given  them  by 
their  members.  If  the  people  of  a  country  are 
strong,  intelligent,  virtuous  and  God-fearing,  the 
nation  which  they  constitute  will  have  these 
characteristics.  In  showing  the  necessity  of  the 
Sabbath  to  individuals  and  describing  its  influence 
upon  them,  we  have  shown  what  it  will  do  for  a 
people  or  a  nation.  Illustrations  of  its  influence 
are  abundant.  Two  communities,  side  by  side, 
with  other  conditions  similar  or  exactly  the  same, 
one  of  which  observed  the  Sabbath  while  the 
other  did  not,  have  shown  marked  differences  in 
moral  character,  intelligence  and  temporal  pros- 
perity. Let  one  of  these  cases  serve  as  a  type 
of  many  others.  In  New  Hampshire  there  were 
two  communities,  one  consisting  of  five  families, 
the  other  of  six.  There  was  no  great  difference  in 
the  outward  circumstances  of  the  two  except  that 
the  former  was  about  three  miles  further  away 
from  a  church  than  the  latter.  The  five  families 
kept  the  Sabbath  with  great  care,  abstaining  from 
all  secular  work  and  worldly  amusement  on  Sun- 
day, and  always  attending  church.  They  were 
(72) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Social  Welfare,    107 

sometimes  jeered  at  by   their   Sabbath-breaking 
neighbors   for  their  puritanical  habits,  but  they 
went  on  doing   what  they  believed  to  be  their 
duty.     The   six  families  of  the   other  neighbor- 
hood, when  they  did  not  work,  spent  Sunday  in 
visiting  from  house  to  house  and  in  out-of-door 
sports,  such  as  fishing,  ball-playing,  hunting  and 
riding.     None    of    them    ever   went    to    church. 
What  were  the  results  ?     Before  the  third  gener- 
ation had   passed  away   the   two  neighborhoods 
presented   a  most  striking  contrast.     All   those 
descended  from  the  five  families  were  enjoying 
peace    and    prosperity.      Only    two    out    of    the 
whole  number  were  grossly  immoral.     Most  of 
them  were  members  of  a  Christian  church  and 
adorned  their  profession.     Several  were  officers 
of  churches,  some  were  ministers   of  the  gospel, 
and  one  was  a  missionary  to  China.     No  divorce 
or  separation  of  husband  and  wife  except  by  death 
ever  occurred  among  them.     Those  who  remained 
in  their  native  place  maintained  the  principles  of 
their   ancestors   and  were  prospered  in  worldly 
affairs  ;  while  a  colony  which  went  out  from  them 
formed  a  similar  community  in  the  West.     How 
was  it  with  the  six  families  who  paid  no  heed  to 
the    Lord's   day  ?     Five    of  these  families   were 
broken   up   by   the    separation   of   husband   and 
wife,  and  the  other  by  the  father  becoming  a  thief 

(73) 


108  Necessity  of  the  Sahhath, 

and  running  away.  Eight  or  nine  of  the  parents 
became  drunkards,  one  died  by  his  own  hand  and 
all  came  to  poverty.  Of  the  forty-five  descend- 
ants, tAventy  were  notorious  drunkards,  jockeys 
or  gamblers.  At  different  times  four  or  five 
were  in  state's  prison.  One  was  killed  in  a  duel. 
Some,  going  to  sea  or  entering  the  army,  were 
never  afterward  heard  from  by  their  friends.  Some 
died  in  almshouses.  Of  the  whole  number  only 
one  became  a  Christian,  and  he  after  spending  his 
youth  in  wickedness  and  dissipation.*  Other 
causes  besides  the  neglect  of  the  Lord's  day  on 
the  one  hand  and  the  observance  of  it  on  the 
other  contributed  to  the  production  of  this  re- 
markable contrast;  but  who  can  doubt  that,  if  the 
six  families  had  kept  the  Sabbath  as  did  the  five 
families,  they  would  have  been  saved  from  vice 
and  the  disasters  which  vicious  habits  brought 
upon  them  ?  Would  not  the  proper  sanctification 
of  that  day  have  made  it  impossible  for  them  to 
use  the  other  days  as  they  did  ?  Here,  then,  we 
have  a  remarkable  illustration  of  the  value  to  a 
community  of  Sabbath-keeping. 

Those  nations  w^hich  have  most  carefully  ob- 
served the  Lord's  day  have  distanced  their  com- 

*  This  account  was  written  })y  a  member  of  the  Sabbath-keep- 
ing community,  and  was  first  published,  I  believe,  in  the  Puritan 
Recorder. 
(74) 


The  Sahhath  and  Mans  Social  Welfare.    109 

petitors  in  the  race  for  wealth  and  power. 
England  and  the  United  States  owe  much  of 
their  greatness  to  this  observance.  Contrast  them 
with  Italy,  Spain  and  Mexico,  where  the  Sabbath 
is  little  regarded.  Though  this  is  not  the  only 
cause  for  the  difference,  it  must  be  reckoned 
among  the  most  potent.  So  great  an  authority 
upon  political  economy  as  Adam  Smith  said, 
"  The  Sabbath  as  a  political  institution  is  of  in- 
estimable value,  independently  of  its  claims  to 
divine  authority."  *  The  reason  for  this  opinion 
is  not  far  to  seek.  The  observance  of  the  Sab- 
bath fosters  the  elements  of  national  greatness. 
Says  Blackstone,  "  The  keeping  one  day  in  seven 
holy,  as  a  means  of  relaxation  and  refreshment, 
as  well  as  for  public  worship,  is  of  admirable 
service  to  the  state,  considered  merely  as  a  civil 
institution.  It  humanizes,  by  the  help  of  con- 
versation and  society,  the  manners  of  the  lower 
classes,  which  would  otherwise  degenerate  into  a 
sordid  ferocity  and  savage  selfishness  of  spirit. 
It  enables  the  industrious  workman  to  pursue  his 
occupation  in  the  ensuing  week  with  health  and 
cheerfulness ;  it  imprints  upon  the  minds  of  the 
people  that  sense  of  their  duty  to  God  so  neces- 
sary to  make  them  good  citizens,  but  which  yet 

*  Quoted  in  Chambers'  "  Life  of  Sir  John  Sinclair." 

(75) 


110  Necessity/  of  the  Sabbath. 

may  be  worn  out  and  defiiced  by  an  unremitted 
continuance  of  labor  without  any  stated  times  of 
recalling  them  to  the  worship  of  their  Maker."  * 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  aside  from  the  moral 
results,  it  is  economical  for  a  people  to  keep  the 
Sabbath.  But  moral  character  and  temporal 
prosperity  cannot  be  separated.  Industry, 
economy,  temperance  and  intelligence  are  the 
bases  of  wealth,  and  these  cannot  co-exist  with 
vice.  It  is  a  matter  of  common  observation  that 
when  a  community  becomes  morally  degraded,  it 
soon  becomes  poor.  The  increase  of  vice  in  any 
neighborhood  diminishes  the  value  of  property 
already  existing.  The  only  assurance  which  a 
nation  has  of  continued  prosperity  is  in  the  health, 
virtue  and  intelligence  of  its  people.  If  the 
Sabbath  is  necessary  to  the  preservation  of  these, 
it  is  necessary  to  national  existence.  On  this 
point  we  may  quote  the  well-known  words  of 
Lord  Macaulay  :  "  Man  !  man  !  this  is  the  great 
creator  of  wealth.  The  difference  between  the 
soil  of  Campania  and  Spitzbergen  is  insignificant 
compared  with  the  difference  presented  by  two 
countries,  the  one  inhabited  by  men  full  of  moral 
and  physical  vigor,  the  other  by  beings  plunged 
in  intellectual  decrepitude.     Hence  it  is  that  we 

*  "  Commentaries,"  bk.  iv.  ch.  4. 
(76) 


The  Sabbath  and  Mans  Social  Welfare,    111 

are  not  impoverished  but  on  the  contrary  enriched 
by  this  seventh  day,  which  we  have  for  so  many 
years    devoted    to  rest.     This    day  is  not   lost. 
While  the  machinery  is  stopped,  while  the  car  rests 
on  the  road,  while  the  treasury  is  silent,  while 
the  smoke  ceases  to  rise  from  the  chimney  of  the 
factory,  the  nation  enriches  itself  none  the  less 
than  during  the  working  days  of  the  week.    Man, 
the  machine  of  all  machines,  the  one  by  the  side 
of  which  all  the  inventions  of  the  Wattses  and 
the  Arkwrights  are  as  nothing,  is  recupemting 
and  gaining  strength  so  well  that  on  Monday  he 
returns  to  his  work  with  his  mind  clearer,  with 
more   courage  for  his   work   and  with  renewed 
vigor.     I  will  never  believe  that  that  which  ren- 
ders a  people  stronger,  wiser  and  better  can  ever 
turn  to  its  impoverishment."*-    In  confirmation 
of  the  truth  of  these  words,  we  may  quote  the 
statement  of   Rev.   George   T.  Washburn,  in  a 
letter   from  India.     As  the  result  of  extended 
observation  he  says, "'  There  is  not  a  non-Sabbath- 
keeping  nation  that  is  not  abjectly  poor."  f     In 
a  subsequent  chapter  J  we  shall  consider  the  re- 
lations  of  the   Sabbath  to   free  institutions   and 
national  prosperity.  Many  statesmen  and  political 

*  Speech  in  Parliament  on  the  Ten-hour  Law. 
t  "  The  Sabbath  for  Man,"  p.  221. 
J  Chapter  XY. 

(77) 


112  Necessity  of  the  Sahhath, 

economists  agree  in  the  opinion  that  the  highest 
form  of  government  cannot  be  maintained  with- 
out it. 

The  Sabbath,  then,  is  a  necessity  to  man's 
social  welfare.  While  nations  and  communities 
may  exist  without  it,  they  cannot  reach  their 
ideal  state.  But  as  man  is  a  social  being  and  can- 
not reach  his  highest  development  without  being 
congregated  with  his  fellows,  this  is  another 
proof  that  the  Sabbath  is  necessary  to  man.  On 
every  side  of  his  nature,  the  physical,  the  intel- 
lectual, the  moral,  the  religious  and  the  social, 
the  Sabbath  supplies  a  want.  In  none  of  these 
respects  can  he  reach  full  manhood  without  it. 
We  believe  that  a  benevolent  God  would  not 
leave  him  without  ample  provision  for  all  his 
necessities.  "  He  that  spared  not  his  own  Son, 
but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  not 
with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things  ?"  *  Surely 
he  will  give  us  what  is  necessary  for  our  redemp- 
tion from  sin  and  our  development  to  the  stature 
of  perfect  manhood.  Among  these  necessities  is 
the  weekly  Sabbath.  This  is  apparent  from  the 
preceding  discussion. 

As  we  pass  now  to  consider  the  direct  evidence 
that  God  has  established  such  a  day,  and  that  he 

*  Romans  8  :  32. 
(78) 


The  SahhatJi  and  Mans  Social  Welfare.    113 

made  it  for  man  and  so  for  all  time,  are  we  not 
prepared  to  receive  favorably  every  item  of  proof 
and  to  give  every  hint  of  such  an  establishment 
its  full  weight  ?  Is  not  this  the  proper  attitude 
of  mind  to  take,  since  we  have  been  led  to  expect 
that  God  would  make  such  provision  for  our 
wants?  Let  us,  then,  as  we  take  the  second 
step  in  this  discussion,  take  it  with  minds  open 
to  conviction.  We  do  not  urge  this  because  the 
proof  is  inadequate,  but  because  so  many  have 
taken  the  contrary  course.  We  have  already 
learned  enough  from  our  consideration  of  the 
necessity  of  the  Sabbath  to  make  it  impossible 
for  us  to  be  over-exacting  and  over-critical  in  ex- 
amining the  history  of  its  institution  and  the 
nature  of  its  observance.  We  may  proceed  with 
minds  unbiased  and  open  to  the  truth.  So  do- 
ing, we  shall  not  fail  to  learn  the  will  of  God,  and 
to  understand  his  purposes  concerning  us. 


(79) 


PART  11. 

THE  SABBATH  OF  THE  BIBLE  WAS  MADE  FOR 
ALL  MEN. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

EARLY  INSTITUTION  OF  THE  SABBATH. 

The  sabbath  was  made  for  man. — Mark  2  :  27. 

In  the  preceding  chapters  we  have  attempted 
to  show  that  the  necessity  of  the  Sabbath  to 
man's  welfare  makes  it  probable  that  it  is  a  divine 
institution  established  for  all  men.  We  have,  so 
far,  done  little  more  than  to  amplify  the  saying 
of  our  Lord,  "  The  sabbath  was  made  for  man." 
These  words,  fairly  interpreted,  certainly  mean 
that  it  was  intended  to  meet  real  wants  in  the 
nature  of  man,  and,  since  these  wants  exist  in  all 
alike,  that  the  Sabbath  was  designed  for  all.  It 
would  be  hard  to  see  how  this  idea  could  be  ex- 
pressed in  clearer  or  more  unambiguous  terms. 
All  do  not  admit  that  the  words  have  this  mean- 
ing. For  this  reason  we  propose  now  to  examine 
the  direct  evidence  that  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  *^ 

U) 


116  The  Sahbath  made  for  All. 

was  meant  to  be  of  universal  application  and  per- 
petual obligation.  For  this  evidence  we  must  go 
to  the  word  of  God. 

Our  first  argument  is  founded  upon  the  fact 
that  the  Sabbath  was  instituted  at  the  beginning 
of  human  history,  long  before  the  formation  of 
the  Jewish  nation.  It  is  admitted  that  if  this 
early  institution  of  the  Sabbath  can  be  shown,  it 
will  go  far  to  establish  its  claim  to  universality. 
In  his  work  on  "  The  Principles  of  Moral  and 
Political  Philosophy,"  Paley  says,  "  If  the  divine 
command  was  actually  delivered  at  the  creation, 
it  was  addressed,  no  doubt,  to  the  whole  human 
species  alike,  and  continues,  unless  repealed  by 
some  subsequent  revelation,  binding  upon  all  who 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  it.  If  the  command  was 
published  for  the  first  time  in  the  wilderness,  then 
it  was  immediately  directed  to  the  Jevvdsh  people 
alone,  and  something  further,  either  in  the  subject 
or  circumstances  of  the  command,  will  be  necessary 
to  show  that  it  was  designed  for  any  other.  The 
former  opinion  precludes  all  debate  upon  the  ex- 
tent of  the  obligation  ;  the  latter  admits,  and, 
prima  facie,  induces,  a  belief  that  the  Sabbath 
ought  to  be  considered  as  part  of  the  peculiar 
law  of  the  Jewish  polity."  *      This  is  probably  a 

*Bo8toned.  1811,  p.  308. 
(2) 


Early  Institution  of  the  Sahhath,         117 

fair  statement  of  the  case,  though  all  do  not 
admit  that  proof  of  the  early  institution  of  the 
Sabbath  settles  the  question.  But  Paley  denies 
its  early  institution,*  and  expresses  the  opinion 
that  the  Sabbath  was  first  heard  of  in  the  wilder- 
ness, after  the  exodus  of  the  Hebrews  from 
Egypt.  In  this  he  has  been  followed  by  a  con- 
siderable number  of  writers  upon  the  subject, 
some  of  them  able  and  scholarly.  Let  us  ex- 
amine the  record  for  ourselves,  and  see  which 
conclusion  is  warranted  by  its  statements. 

In  the  first  three  verses  of  the  second  chapter 
of  Genesis,  we  read,  "  Thus  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  were  finished,  and  all  the  host  of  them. 
And  on  the  seventh  day  God  ended  his  work 
which  he  had  made  ;  and  he  rested  on  the  seventh 
day  from  all  his  work  which  he  had  made.  And 
God  blessed  the  seventh  day,  and  sanctified  it : 
because  that  in  it  he  had  rested  from  all  his  work 
which  God  created  and  made."  f    This  seems  to  be 

*  Paley  would  have  us  observe  the  Lord's  day,  but  he  taught 
that  while  the  appointment  of  public  worship  on  that  day  was 
of  divine  origin,  making  it  a  day  of  rest  was  a  human  arrange- 
ment.    "  Philosophy,"  Boston  ed.  1811,  p.  315. 

t  In  the  body  of  the  work  the  scriptural  quotations  are  from 
the  King  James  Version  ;  but  for  the  convenience  of  readers 
who  may  desire  to  see  them,  I  have  placed  in  the  appendix  the 
passages  relating  to  the  Sabbath  as  translated  in  the  Revised 
Version.     Appendix  C. 

(3) 


118  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

a  perfectly  clear  and  definite  statement.  It  is  here 
put  as  part  of  the  history  of  what  occurred  im- 
mediately subsequent  to  the  creation.  To  say, 
as  Paley  and  his  followers  do,  that  the  order  of 
connection  here  is  not  one  of  time  but  of  associa- 
tion, and  that  these  words,  written  after  the 
giving  of  the  law  on  Sinai,  only  state  the  reason 
for  what  was  afterward  done  in  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Sabbath,  is  a  gratuitous  assumption 
which  looks  as  if  it  w^ere  made  in  support  of  a 
preconceived  theory.  The  fair  method  of  inter- 
pretation would  be  to  let  the  words  stand  as  a 
record  of  what  then  took  place,  unless  there  is 
some  insuperable  objection  to  this  view.  The 
principal  objection  is  that  nothing  more  is  said 
about  a  Sabbath  for  more  than  two  thousand 
years.  It  is  said  that  if  there  was  such  a 
thing  as  a  Sabbath  during  the  age  of  the  patri- 
archs, it  is  very  strange  that  no  mention  of  it 
is  made  in  the  history.  But  the  mere  absence  of 
mention  proves  nothing.  Does  any  one  doubt 
that  the  ordinance  of  circumcision  was  strictly 
observed  throughout  the  whole  history  of  the 
Hebrew  people?  And  yet  it  is  not  mentioned 
from  the  time  of  Joshua  to  that  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist. From  the  date  of  Deut.  16  : 2  the  passover 
is  not  mentioned  until  the  time  of  Isaiah;  and 
yet  no  one  doubts  that  it  had  a  prominent  place 

(4) 


Early  Institution  of  the  Sahhath.         119 

in  the  life  of  the  people.  The  command  to  keep 
the  Sabbath  was  given  with  ail  possible  solemnity 
on  Sinai,  and  was  carefully  observed  by  pious 
Hebrews  from  that  time  ;  but  it  is  not  mentioned 
in  the  record  for  about  five  hundred  years  after 
the  death  of  Moses.  The  Bible  record  is  so  brief 
— so  many  centuries  are  often  covered  by  a  few 
pages — that  many  things  are  omitted  which  one 
would  expect  to  find  in  an  extended  history.  It 
it  is  not  fair  to  base  any  argument  upon  these 
omissions.  As  Tayler  Lewis  has  well  said  of  the 
history  of  the  patriarchs,  "  To  object  that  the 
Bible,  in  its  few  brief  memoranda  of  their  lives, 
says  nothing  about  their  Sabbath-keeping,  any 
more  than  it  tells  us  of  their  forms  of  prayer  and 
modes  of  worship,  is  a  worthless  argument."  * 

But  we  are  not  without  positive  proof  that  the 
Sabbath  was  observed  during  this  period.  There 
are  indications  of  a  weekly  division  of  time  which 
must  have  originated  in  this  institution.  Noah  was 
warned  seven  days  before,  the  beginning  of  the 
flood.f  Twice  he  waited  seven  days  before  send- 
ing out  the  dove  from  the  ark.  J  In  the  history  of 
Jacob's  marriage  there  is  a  direct  reference  to  the 
week.§     This  division  of  time  is  not  accidental. 


*  Lange  on  Genesis,  p.  197.  %  Ibid.,  8  :  10-12. 

t  Genesis  7:4.  g  Ibid.,  29  :  27. 

(5) 


120  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

To  quote  again  from  Tayler  Lewis,  "  There  is 
certainly  indicated  here  a  sevenfold  division  of 
days,  as  already  recognized,  whatever  may  be  its 
reasons.  Of  these,  no  one  seems  more  easy  and 
natural  than  that  w^hich  refers  it  to  the  tradition- 
ary remembrance  of  the  creation,  and  its  seventh 
day  of  rest,  although  some  of  those  who  claim  to  j 
be  the  higher  school  of  criticism  reject  it.  .  .  . 
Now  it  may  be  regarded  as  well  settled  that  such 
a  division  of  time  existed  universally  among  the 
Shemitic  and  other  Oriental  peoples."  *  This 
learned  and  able  writer  here  touches  upon  a  fact 
which  is  of  considerable  importance  to  our  line 
of  proof.  If  it  can  be  shown  that  the  most 
ancient  nations  had  the  hebdomadal  or  weekly 
division  of  time,  or  divisions  that  may  have  grown 
out  of  it,  w^e  shall  have  strong  confirmatory 
evidence  that  it  originated  with  the  institution  of 
the  Sabbath  at  creation.  It  is  well  known  that  ^ 
the  Chinese  nation  is  so  old  that  its  origin  is  lost 
in  the  obscurity  of  prehistoric  times.  It  has  com- 
monly been  referred  to  as  a  nation  without  a  Sab- 
bath, and  its  known  antiquity  has  led  many  to 
suppose  that  its  want  of  this  institution  is  an 
indication  that  the  Sabbath  was  appointed  after 
the  progenitors  of  the  Chinese  separated  from  the 


*  Langeon  Genesis,  p.  311. 
(6) 


Early  Institution  of  the  Sahhath.  121 

rest  of  the  human  family ;  but  recent  investiga- 
tions have  changed  this  inference.     The  Chinese^ 
have  many  ancient  writings,  and  their  historical 
records    have    been  preserved   with  great    care. 
Their  classics  are  so  old  that  they  were  regarded 
as  venerable  at  the  time  of  Confucius,  five  hun- 
dred years  before  Christ.     In  these  there  are  two 
passages  which,  according  to  a  translation  made 
by   Dr.   James   Legge,  of   Oxford,   the  greatest 
Chinese  scholar  of  our    time,  plainly  refer  to  a  ^. 
weekly  division  of  time  and  to  a  Sabbath  rest  on 
every    seventh    day.     In    the  funeral  rites   and 
mourning    customs    of    the     Chinese    there    are 
periods  of  seven  days  for  the  different  ceremonies. 
In  the  imperial  almanac,  which  can  be  issued  only  • 
with  the   sanction  of  the  emperor,  every  seventh 
day  is  marked  with  a  character  which  is  said  to 
mean  "  secret "  or  "  closed."     Their  scholars  tes- 
tify that  it  has  been  there  from  time  immemorial, 
though  the  reason  for  its  presence  has  been  lost.  *^ 
All  these  facts,  and  others  which  might  be  cited, 
are  indications  that  the  Chinese  once  had  a  Sab-    . 
bath  which  they  long  ago  ceased  to  observe  be- 
cause they  had  no  direct  or  written  revelation  on 
the  subject.* 

^  For  a  fuller   presentation  of  the  evidence  see  "Primitive 
Sabbath  Restored,"  by  Rev.  James  Johnson,  pp.  9-12. 

(7) 


122  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

The  Accadians,  who  lived  in  the  valley  of  the 
Tigris,  were  probably  the  primitive  Hamite  race. 
Their  descendants  who  remained  in  the  same  re- 
gion are  known  to  ns  as  Assyrians.  The  only 
history,  outside  of  the  Bible,  that  we  have  of 
this  primitive  people  is  in  cuneiform  writing  upon 
stone  tablets  which  have,  during  the  past  few 
years,  been  discovered  and  exhumed  on  the  site 
of  Nineveh.  These  tablets,  which  are  themselves 
\)ery  ancient,  are  probably  copies  of  manuscripts 
yet  older.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
the  latter  were  in  existence  before  the  time  of 
Abraham.*  From  translations  of  these  tablets 
made  by  George  Smith,  W.  Fox  Talbot  and  Rev. 
A.  H.  Sayce,  it  appears  that  these  ancient  people 
had  both  the  septenary  division  of  time  and  the 
weekly  day  of  rest.  Of  a  calendar  discovered  at 
Nineveh  in  1869  Mr.  Sayce  says,  "  The  chief 
interest  attaching  to  it  is  due  to  the  fact  that  it 
bears  evidence  of  a  seventh-day  Sabbath,  on 
which  certain  works  were  forbidden  to  be  done 
among  the  Babylonians  and  Assyrians."  He  refers 
to  the  fact  that  what  he  renders  "  Sabbath "  is 
expressed  by  Accadian  words,  indicating  the  an- 
tiquity of  the  observance.  He  says,  however, 
that   "  the  word  Sabbath   was    not  unknown  to 


*  See  George  Smith's  "  Chaldean  Account  of  Creation." 
(8) 


Early  Institution  of  the  Sahhath.  123 

the  Assyrians,  and  occurs  under  the  form  '  Sab- 
batu.' "  Then  follows  an  enumeration  of  the 
things  prohibited  on  that  day,  in  which  it  had 
some  resemblance  to  the  Jewish  Sabbath.*  The 
great  Orientalist,  Le  Norniant,  says  that  ^Hhe 
Assyrians  recognized  the  Sabbath.  This  fact 
may  be  positively  inferred  from  the  passage  of  a 
fragment  of  a  lexicon  of  Assyrian  synonyms, 
wherein  ^yum  nuh  libbi,'  day  of  repose  of  the 
heart,  day  of  joy,  is  translated  '  Sabbatuv,' 
^  Sabbath.'"  t 

Thus  in  the  records  of  two  of  the  most  ancient 
nations  we  have  discovered  evidences  that  the 
weekly  division  of  time  and  the  Sabbath  existed 
centuries  before  the  time  of  Moses.  This  method 
of  dividing  time  was  also  in  vogue  among  the 
ancient  Hindus,  Scandinavians,  Persians  and 
Egyptians.  According  to  a  statement  of  Dion 
Cassius,  a  Roman  historian  of  the  second  century, 
it  was  introduced  into  Rome  from  Egypt  not  far 
from  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  probably 
in  46  B.C.,  when  the  calendar  was  reformed. J 
The  fact  that  a  different  division  of  time  prevailed 
among  other  peoples  rather  confirms  than  rebuts 
the  evidence  for  the  early  origin  of  the  week, 

*  "  Records  of  the  Past,"  7,  157. 

f  "  Beginnings  of  History,"  p.  249,  note. 

X  "History  of  Rome,"  37,  17,  18. 

(9) 


124  The  Sahhath  made  for  All. 

since  it  was  inevitable  that  a  change  of  this  kind 
would  be  made  in  the  lapse  of  time  by  those  who 
had  gone  far  from  the  original  home  of  the  race 
or  departed  from  many  of  the  primitive  customs. 
In  attempting  to  discover  the  antiquity  of  the 
week,  we  are  chiefly  concerned  with  its  observance 
by  the  most  ancient  peoples.  We  have  already 
discovered  enough  to  warrant  the  saying  of  La 
Place,  "  The  week  is  perhaps  the  most  ancient  and 
incontestable  monument  of  human  knowledge." 
Whence  did  it  arise  ?  Those  who  attempt  to 
account  for  it  on  natural  grounds  are  puzzled  by  the 
fact  that  there  is  no  such  natural  division  of  time. 
The  nearest  approach  to  it  is  the  lunar  month ; 
but  this  is  not  twenty-eight  days,  but  twenty -nine 
and  a  half.  The  changes  of  the  moon,  therefore, 
do  not  furnish  a  natural  division  of  time  into 
periods  of  seven  days.  That  it  could  not  have 
had  an  astronomical  origin  of  any  kind  is  appar- 
ent from  the  fact  that  it  existed  before  there  was 
any  systematic  observation  of  the  heavenly  bodies. 
The  fact  that  the  days  of  the  week  were  named 
after  the  sun  and  moon  and  the  five  planets  known 
to  the  ancients  does  not  prove  that  the  w^eek  was 
established  in  their  honor.  There  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  the  week  is  older  than  the  names, 
and  that  they  were  given  to  the  days  of  the 
week  when  the  heavenly  bodies  came  to  be  re- 

(10) 


Early  Institution  of  the  Sabbath.         125 

garded  as  objects  of  idolatrous  worship,  signifying 
that  one  day  was  specially  appropriated  to  each 
divinity. 

It  is  impossible  to  find  in  nature  any  satisfac- 
tory explanation  of  the  week.  But  it  is  easy  to 
see  how  some  special  mark  put  upon  the  seventh 
day  at  the  beginning  would  lead  to  such  a  divis- 
ion of  time.  Dr.  Lewis  remarks  that  this  ex- 
planation would  be  considered  ample  by  all  schol- 
ars, if  they  were  willing  to  live  up  to  their  own 
rule,  that  "  the  Bible  is  to  be  interpreted  like  any 
other  ancient  writing."  There  are  many  who 
will  accept  the  most  improbable  theories  rather 
than  admit  that  the  Bible  and  its  institutions  had 
a  divine  origin. 

This  explanation  of  the  origin  of  the  week  is 
rendered  more  probable  by  the  fact  that,  in 
ancient  times,  the  sevenJiL_ilay  was  widely  re- 
garded as  sacred.  Some  idea  of  sacredness  has 
been  connected  with  the  number  seven  from  the 
earliest  times.  Le  Normant  says,"^'  "  The  sacred 
character  of  the  number  seven  .  .  .  dates  back 
to  the  remotest  antiquity  among  the  Chaldceo- 
Babylonians,  and  is  greatly  anterior  to  the  appli- 
cation of  the  hebdomadal  conception  to  the  group 
of  the  five  planets,  with  the  addition  of  the  sun 

*  "Beginnings  of  History,"  p.  249,  note. 

(11) 


12G  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

and  moon."  The  sacredness  of  the  number  seven 
among  the  Hebrews  is  well  known.  That  it 
should  have  been  so  regarded  in  later  time  is  not 
strange,  but  it  had  this  character  from  the  very 
beginning.  Its  use  in  the  threatened  vengeance 
upon  the  slayer  of  Cain,*  in  the  boasting  of 
Lamechjf  in  Jacob's  terms  of  service  for  Rachel,^ 
in  the  number  of  times  he  bowed  before  Esau,§ 
in  the  dream  of  Pharaoh  and  its  fulfillment 
according  to  Joseph's  interpretation,  ||  all  indicate 
that  it  had  a  sacred  and  symbolic  character.  The 
number  seven  and  the  seventh  day  were  sacred 
among  many  other  peoples.  Philo,  a  contem- 
porary of  Christ,  writing  of  the  seventh  day  said, 
, "  That  day  is  the  festival  not  of  one  city  or 
'  country,  but  of  all  the  earth."  *[[  Whence  this 
sacredness  of  the  number  seven?  It  has  been 
shown  that  it  did  not  come  from  any  peculiar 
place  which  it  had  in  the  mathematical  studies  of 
the  ancients.  What  more  reasonable  supposition 
can  there  be  than  that  it  arose  from  the  fact  that 
in  the  beginning  God  sanctified  the  seventh  day  ? 
That  the  sacredness  of  the  number  seven  and  the 
seventh  day  existed  at  so  early  a  date  and  was  so 


*  Genesis  4:5.  §  76id,  33  :  3. 

t  Ihid.,  4  :  24.  II  Ibid.,  41 :  2-7,  25-30  -,  47  :  53,  54. 

%  Ibid.,  29  :  19,  20.  1[  Bohn's  Eccl.  Lib.,  vol.  i.  p.  26. 
(12) 


Early  Institution  of  the  Sahhath.  127 

universal  is  clear  proof  that  the  Sabbath   must 
have  been  given  to  our  first  parents. 

That  the  Sabbath  was  not  first  heard  of  when 
the  Hebrews  were  in  the  wilderness  of  Sinai  is 
evident  from  the  terms  in  which  it  was  then  men- 
tioned. The  occasion  was  as  follows  :  When  the 
people  came  into  the  wilderness  they  murmured 
on  account  of  their  lack  of  food.  To  supply  their 
wants  the  Lord  sent  manna  from  heaven,  which 
they  were  to  gather  daily  as  they  needed  it.  If 
any  attempted  to  store  it,  it  bred  worms  and 
stank.  To  this  rule  there  was  to  be  a  single  ex- 
ception. The  Lord  instructed  Moses  that  on  the 
sixth  day  they  were  to  gather  a  double  portion. 
Whether  or  not  he  told  this  to  the  people  is  un- 
certain, but  it  appears  not,  from  the  statement 
that  when  the  people  did  gather  the  double  por- 
tion, "  all  the  rulers  of  the  congregation  came  and 
told  Moses."  *  His  answer  was,  "  This  is  that 
which  the  Lord  hath  said,  To-morrow  is  the  rest 
of  the  sabbath  unto  the  Lord."f  They  were 
directed  to  prepare  food  sufficient  for  the  follow- 
ing day,  for  they  would  not  then  find  any  manna 
in  the  field.  However,  some  of  the  people  went 
out  to  gather  it  on  the  seventh  day.  "  And  the 
Lord  said  unto  Moses,  How  long  refuse  ye  to  keep 


*  Exodus  16  :  22.  -f  Ibid.,  v.  23. 

(13) 


128  The  Sahhath  made  for  AIL 

my  commandments  and  my  laws  ?  See,  for  that 
the  Lui  1  liMih  given  you  the  sabbath,  therefore 
he  giveth  you  on  the  sixth  day  me  bread  of  two 
days  :  abide  ye  every  man  in  his  place,  let  no  man 
go  out  of  his  place  on  the  seventh  day."  *  Any 
one  who  reads  this  account  with  an  unbiased 
mind  must  admit  that  it  does  not  seem  like  the 
first  mention  of  an  important  institution  like  the 
Sabbath.  There  is  no  formal  announcement  of  a 
law.  The  first  allusion  to  the  Sabbath  is  in  the 
words  addressed  to  Moses,  "And  it  shall  come  to 
pass,  that  on  the  sixth  day  they  shall  prepare  that 
which  they  bring  in ;  and  it  shall  be  twice  as 
much  as  they  gather  daily."  f  Such  an  inci- 
dental mention  of  the  Sabbath  is  the  best  possi- 
ble proof  of  its  previous  existence.  No  reason  is 
given  for  this  direction,  implying  that  one  already 
existed  which  would  be  w^ell  understood.  If  this 
is  the  first  mention  of  a  Sabbath,  it  is  very 
strange  that  no  reason  is  given  for  its  observance. 
Never  before  or  since  was  a  law  of  such  import- 
ance announced  in  such  a  way.  Again,  if  the 
Sabbath  had  not  before  been  heard  of,  what  perti- 
nence or  force  is  there  in  the  inquiry  of  the  Lord, 
"  How  long  refuse  ye  to  keep  my  commandments 
and  obey  my  laws  ?"     Here  the  law  of  the  Sab- 

*  Exodus  16  :  28,  29.  f  Ihid.,  v.  5. 

(14) 


Early  Institution  of  the  Sahhath.  129 

bath  is  referred  to  as  though  it  had  been  long  in 
existence.  That  some  of  them  disobeyed  it  is 
no  objection  to  this  view.  They  had  been  about 
four  centuries  in  Egypt,  and  probably  had  been 
deprived  of  the  Sabbath.  Enough  had  been  able 
to  observe  it,  to  keep  knowledge  of  It  alive  among 
the  people,  but,  no  doubt,  those  who  had  wrought 
as  common  slaves  had  had  no  Sabbath  at  all.  It 
is  for  this  reason,  probably,  that  the  idea  of  rest 
is  here  emphasized.  The  phrase  in  the  twenty- 
third  verse  is,  "  the  resting,  the  rest  of  holiness 
unto  the  Lord";  for  the  two  words  are  the  same, 
and  "sabbath"  is  the  Hebrew  word  for  "rest." 
The  people  w^ere  surprised,  it  is  true,  at  the 
double  portion  of  manna  on  the  sixth  day,  but 
that  is  not  strange,  even  though  they  were  an- 
ticipating a  day  of  rest  on  the  morrow,  and  the 
explanation  given  by  Moses  that  it  was  the  Lord's 
provision  to  enable  them  more  perfectly  to  keep 
the  Sabbath  seems  to  have  readily  satisfied  them. 
Our  conclusion  is  that  the  terms  of  the  narrative 
indicate  that  the  Sabbath  was  not  at  this  time 
first  instituted. 

The  form  of  the  fourth  commandment  shows 
that  the  Sabbath  had  been  previously  known.  It 
is,  "  Remember  the  sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy. 
Six  days  shalt  thou  labor,  and  do  all  thy  work : 
but  the  seventh  day  is  the  sabbath  of  the  Lord 
9  (15) 


130  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

thy  God  :  in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work,  thou, 
nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  thy  manservant, 
nor  thy  maidservant,  nor  thy  cattle,  nor  thy 
stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates :  for  in  six 
days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea, 
and  all  that  in  them  is,  and  rested  the  seventh 
day  :  wherefore  the  Lord  blessed  the  sabbath  day, 
and  hallowed  it."  *  Notice  that  it  is  said,  "  Re- 
member the  sabbath  day,"  as  though  they  had 
known  of  it  but  were  in  danger  of  forgetting  it. 
This  danger  had  been  augmented  by  the  enforced 
non-observance  of  the  day  in  Egypt.  There  was, 
therefore,  special  pertinence  in  telling  them  to  re- 
member it.  Again,  the  reason  given  for  the  com- 
mand is  what  God  did  at  the  creation.  He 
"rested  on  the  seventh  day,"  and  "blessed  the 
sabbath  day,  and  hallowed  it."  It  is  almost  an 
exact  repetition  of  the  words  in  which  the  Sab- 
bath is  first  mentioned.  It  is  not  said  that  God 
rested  and  that  he  blesses  and  hallows  the  Sab- 
bath, but  all  these  acts  are  put  in  the  past.  There 
is  a  plain  allusion  to  events  that  had  occurred 
long  before.  There  is  no  reason  whatever  for 
putting  a  long  interval  of  time  between  his  rest- 
ing and  the  act  of  blessing  and  hallowing  the 
Sabbath.     It  is  true  that  in  another  place  f  the 


*  Exodus  20  :  8-11.  t  Deuteronomy  5  :  15. 

(16) 


Early  Institution  of  the  Sahhath.  131 

reason  given  to  the  Hebrews  for  keeping  the  Sab- 
bath is  that  God  brought  them  up  out  of  the  land 
of  Egypt,  and  this  has  been  referred  to  as  prov- 
ing that  it  is  an  exclusively  Jewish  institution. 
But  this  is  not  stated  as  their  only  reason  for 
keeping  it;  it  was  an  additional  reason,  having 
special  force  with  them  because  the  day  of  rest, 
as  a  blessed  privilege,  stood  over  against  their 
former  bondage.  It  also  suggested  to  them  the 
propriety  of  giving  their  servants  one  day  of 
rest  in  seven,  since  their  suffering  in  Egypt  from 
unremitting  toil  should  make  them  careful  not  to 
oppress  others  in  the  same  way.  The  statement* 
that  the  Sabbath  was  to  be  a  sign  between  God 
and  his  chosen  people  has  been  used  to  establish 
the  same  opinion.  But  the  mere  appointing  of  an 
appropriate  thing  as  a  sign  does  not  prove  that  it 
never  before  existed.  In  Genesis  we  read,  '*  And 
God  said,  .  .  .  I  do  set  my  bow  in  the  cloud,  and 
it  shall  be  for  a  token  of  a  covenant  between 
me  and  the  earth" ;  f  but  everybody  knows  that 
there  must  have  been  rainbows  from  the  time 
when  the  present  order  of  things  began.  The 
same  use  has  been  made  of  a  similar  passage  in 
Ezekiel.  It  occurs  in  the  twentieth  chapter,  and 
reads,  "  And  I  gave  them  my  statutes,  and  shewed 

*  Exodus  31 :  13-17.  f  Genesis  9  :  13. 

(17) 


132  The  Sahhath  made  for  All. 

them  my  judgments,  which  if  a  man  do,  he  shall 
even  live  in  them.  Moreover  also  I  gave  them  my 
sabbaths,  to  be  a  sign  between  me  and  them,  that 
they  might  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  that  sanctify 
them."  *  It  cannot  be  argued  from  this  that  the 
Sabbath  was  devised  especially  for  the  Jews  un- 
less it  is,  at  the  same  time,  admitted  that  the 
"  statutes  "  and  ^^  judgments  "  of  the  Lord  had  not 
before  existed  and  were  for  no  others.  They  are 
all  connected  in  this  statement.  The  '^  statutes  " 
and  "judgments  "  were  not  invented  for  the  Jews ; 
they  were  eternal  principles,  but  were  fully 
made  known  to  them  in  the  giving  of  the  law. 
The  Sabbath  was  also  made  known  to  them  more 
fully  than  to  others,  and  they  were  instructed  in 
the  manner  of  keeping  it,  but  it  was  not  invented 
for  them.  Almost  the  same  forms  of  expression 
occur  in  the  ninth  chapter  of  Nehemiah,  except 
that  there  it  is  said,  "And  madest  known  unto 
them  thy  holy  sabbath."  This  seems  to  imply 
that  the  command  to  keep  the  Sabbath  was  simply 
a  full  revelation  of  an  institution  which  God  had 
previously  established;  else  why  are  they  called  his 
Sabbaths,  and  why  is  it  said  that  they  w^ere  made 

'  known,  and  not  that  they  were  instituted  for  the 

-  chosen  people  ? 

*Ezekiel20:  11,  12. 
(18) 


Early  Institution  of  the  Sabbath.  133 

The  nature  of  this  early  Sabbath  is  hinted  at  in 
the  words  which  record  its  institution.    God  rested 
from  the  work    of  creation.     This   is    evidently 
meant  to  teach  men  that  on  the  seventh  day  they 
are   to   cease  from    secular    toil   and    rest.     The 
question  might  here  arise  whether  the  statement 
that  God  created  the  world  in  six  days  and  rested 
on  the  seventh  day  has  reference  to  the  periods 
of  creation  or  to  days  of  twenty-four  hours.     So 
far   as   the  history  is   concerned,  it  refers  to  the 
periods  of  creation  ;  but  the  lesson  drawn  for  man 
from    God's   action  applies  to  maiis  days.     The 
difference  in  length  is  an  element  which  need  not 
be  considered  in  a  discussion  of  the  Sabbath.     It 
is    not  stated   that  God   became    inactive.     The 
work  of  material   creation  was   finished,  but  he 
continued  to  work  upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
men.     He  turned,   so  far  as  this  world  is  con- 
cerned, from  the  material  to  the  spiritual.     And 
this  gives  us  a  hint  as  to  the  true  nature  of  the 
Sabbath.     It  is  the  day  in  which  to  care  for  the 
soul.     This  idea  is  more  fully  developed  in  the 
statement  that  God   blessed  and    sanctified    the 
seventh  day.     He  made  it  a  blessing  to  man,  not 
only  because  on  it  he  was  to  rest,  but  also  be- 
cause it  afibrded  him  the  means  of  caring  for  the 
wants  of  his  higher  nature.     Sanctifying  the  day 
means  that  God  set  it  apart  as  a  day  to  be  de- 

(19) 


134  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

voted  to  holy  uses.  It  could  have  no  higher  use 
than  to  keep  man  near  to  his  God  and  to  cultivate 
his  moral  and  religious  nature. 

But  have  we  any  indication  that  a  Sabbath  of 
this  kind  was  kept  in  the  early  days  of  human 
history  ?  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  men  have 
worshipped  God  from  the  first.  Cain  and  Abel 
offered  sacrifices.*  In  Genesis  4  :  26  we  read, 
"  Then  began  men  to  call  upon  the  name  of  the 
Lord."  It  is  generally  agreed  that  this  is  an  ac- 
count of 'the  first  public  religious  services.  Says 
Lange,  "  it  must  be  that  here  is  narrated  the  be- 
ginning of  formal  divine  worship."*)-  Noah, 
Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob  built  altars  unto  the 
Lord.  This  seems  to  indicate  that  there  were 
stated  places  of  worship.  We  have  seen  that 
tbe  number  seven  and  the  seventh  day  were,  in 
ancient  times,  regarded  as  sacred.  What  more 
natural  than  to  suppose  that  the  worship  which 
is  here  clearly  referred  to  was  held  on  that  day  ? 
This  view  is  confirmed  by  the  words  with  which 
the  account  of  the  offerings  of  Cain  and  Abel  is 
begun.  "And  at  the  end  of  days,  it  came  to 
pass  that  Cain  brought  of  the  fruit  of  the  ground 
an  offering  unto  the  Lord."  "  At  the  end  of 
days  "  must  mean  at  the   end  of  some  fixed  and 

*  Genesis  4:3,4.  f  Commentary  on  Genesis,  p.  262. 

(20) 


Early  Institution  of  the  Sabbath.  135 

well-known  period.  We  know  of  no  such  period 
at  that  time  except  the  week,  at  the  end  of  which 
the  Sabbath  came.  The  references  to  a  Sabbath 
in  the  Chinese,  Hindu  and  Assyrian  records  and 
books  of  worship  show  that  it  had,  in  the  earliest 
times,  a  somewhat  similar  use  among  these  peo- 
ples. It  is  hardly  possible  to  avoid  the  conclu- 
sion that  a  Sabbath,  on  which  men  rested  from 
secular  toil  and  engaged  in  the  w^orship  of  God, 
was  instituted  at  the  beginning  of  human  history. 
Just  as  the  law  of  marriage  and  the  law  of  prop- 
erty are  older  than  the  decalogue,  so  the  law  of 
the  Sabbath,  having  its  origin  in  the  needs  of 
man  and  in  the  benevolence  and  wisdom  of  God, 
w^as  given  to  the  first  man,  and  but  repeated  and 
emphasized  on  Sinai.  This  agrees  fully  with  the 
view  already  presented  that  the  Sabbath  is  neces- 
sary to  the  welfare  of  man,  and  that  it  was  made 
for  him.  If  this  institution  has  the  relation  to 
man's  welfare  w^hich  w^e  have  pointed  out,  it  is 
probable  that  God  would  not  withhold  it  for 
twenty-five  hundred  years,  and  then  give  it  to  one 
nation  and  limit  its  application  to  them  alone.  The 
probability  is  changed  to  approximate  certainty 
by  the  evidence  we  have  examined  that  he  did 
proclaim  a  Sabbath  to  our  first  parents.  The  bear- 
ing of  this  conclusion  upon  the  general  discussion 
will  be  readily  perceived.     If  the   Sabbath  did 

(21) 


136  The  Sahhath  made  for  AIL 

have  this  early  origin,  it  was  given  to  the  whole 
race,  and  should  be  observed  by  every  human 
being.  It  takes  it  at  once  out  of  the  category  of 
Jewish  institutions,  and  gives  it  a  general  charac-'^ 
ter.  We  are  aware  that  this  is  denied  by  some, 
though  generally  admitted.  Dr.  Thomas  Arnold, 
in  attempting  to  prove  the  abrogation  of  the 
Jewish  Sabbath,  said,  "  If  the  law  itself  be  done 
away  in  Christ,  much  more  the  things  before  the 
law."  *  But  that  depends  on  whether  "  the 
things  before  the  law"  were  in  the  nature  of 
moral  precepts  and  had  a  vital  relation  to  the 
welfare  of  man.  The  moral  law  itself  is  not 
done  away  in  Christ ;  no  more  are  the  things  be- 
fore it  which  God  made  obligatory  upon  man. 
Unless  it  can  be  shown  that  the  law  of  the  Sab- 
bath, given  at  the  creation,  has  been  repealed  by 
a  new  legislative  act  of  God,  it  is  still  binding 
upon  all  men  who  learn  of  it.  For,  coming  at 
this  time,  it  was  not  given  to  one  man  or  to  one 
nation,  but  to  the  whole  human  family.  That  it 
has  become  known  to  us  through  the  Mosaic  law 
does  not  change  the  nature  or  the  extent  of  this  >/ 
obligation.  When  God  spoke  moral  precepts  to 
Moses,  he  meant  them  to  reach  the  ear  and  the 
heart  of  the  world. 


*  Sermons,  vol.  iii.  p.  256. 
(22) 


CHAPTER  YII. 

THE  COMMAND  TO  KEEP  THE  SABBATH  A  PART  OF 
THE  MORAL  LAW. 

Men  do  not  know  what  they  are  doing,  when  by  their  teach- 
ing; or  example  they  encourage  the  neglect  or  profanation  of  the 
Lord's  day^. — Hodge. 

The  proposition  which  we  have  made  the  head- 
ing of  this  chapter  is  fiercely  disputed  by  the 
enemies  of  the  Sabbath,  and  is  more  or  less 
strongly  controverted  by  some  of  its  friends. 
These  friends  of  the  Sabbath,  thinking  that  the 
fourth  commandment  is  not  a  part  of  the  moral 
law,  have  sought  for  other  grounds  on  which  to 
maintain  the  sacredness  of  the  Lord's  day.  As 
we  hold  that  it  is  difficult  to  prove  the  divine 
origin  and  perpetual  obligation  of  the  Sabbath 
without  maintaining  the  truth  of  this  proposition, 
it  will  be  necessary,  in  the  present  discussion,  to 
define  our  position  with  some  care,  and  to  be  sure 
of  our  ground  at  every  step. 

It  is  customary  to  divide  the  commands  of 
God,  especially  those  delivered  to  the  Jews,  into 
two  classes,  and  to  call  them  positive  precepts 
and  moral  precepts.     These  are  technical  terms 

(23) 


138  The  Sabbath  made  for  AIL 

which  have  been  found  convenient  to  express 
a  distinction  which  we  shall  now  try  to  make 
clear,  in  order  to  show  the  true  place  of  the 
fourth  commandment.  By  a  positive  precept  is 
meant  one  which  is  not  founded  in  the  nature  of 
things,  and  which,  therefore,  is  not  universal  and 
permanent,  but  provisional  and  temporary.  It  is 
a  command  given  for  some  temporary  purpose, 
and  ceases  to  be  binding  when  that  purpose  is 
accomplished.  At  one  time  it  might  be  a  sin  to 
disobey  such  a  command,  and  at  another  time 
circumstances  might  arise  which  would  make  it  a 
sin  to  obey  it.  It  might  be  given  to  one  people 
and  have  no  binding  force  upon  any  other.  Of 
this  nature  were  the  commands  of  the  ceremonial 
law  concerning  the  temple  service,  circumcision, 
the  offering  of  sacrifices  and  other  rites  of  the 
Mosaic  dispensation.  They  were  given  to  the 
Jews  alone,  and  were  meant  to  be  temporary. 
The  ceremonies  they  involved  were  largely  typ- 
ical, and  disappeared  with  the  coming  of  their 
antitypes.  Obedience  to  these  commands  by 
those  to  whom  they  were  addressed  was  a  duty, 
because  God  is  the  supreme  Lawgiver,  and  be- 
cause his  purposes  could  not  have  been  accom- 
plished without  it;  but  they  had  no  natural 
foundation.  In  most  cases  it  would  be  wrong 
for  Christians   to   obey  them,  because  it  would 

(24) 


The  Command  Part  of  Moral  Law.       139 

imply  a  rejection  of  the  work  of  God  by  which 
they  have  been  superseded. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  moral  precept  is  one 
which  would  have  been  binding  upon  us  if  it  had 
never  been  expressed  in  formal  terms.  It  is 
grounded  in  the  constitution  of  things,  and  is  part 
of  an  eternal  and  unchangeable  law.  Whatever 
it  enjoins  or  prohibits  is  not  made  right  or  wrong 
by  the  special  enactment.  It  commands  only 
what  was  always  right  and  prohibits  what  was 
always  wrong.  Such  precepts  can  never  be  re- 
pealed. They  are  as  unchangeable  as  the  law 
of  gravitation,  which  will  continue  to  act  until 
the  material  universe  is  reconstructed  on  an  en- 
tirely new  plan.  This  is  not  saying  that  God  is 
not  the  author  of  moral  law  :  it  is  only  saying 
that  he  wrote  the  moral  law  upon  the  nature  of 
things  before  he  wrote  it  upon  tables  of  stone. 
Of  this  class  are  the  commands  to  love  and  wor- 
ship and  obey  God,  to  tell  the  truth,  to  be  honest, 
and  to  be  chaste.  Men  were  bound  to  abstain 
from  the  worship  of  idols,  to  worship  their  Cre- 
ator as  the  supreme  Being,  and  to  do  his  will  in 
all  things,  before  the  law  was  given  on  Sinai.  It 
could  never  have  been  right  to  lie,  or  steal,  or 
commit  adultery  or  murder,  if  these  acts  had  not 
been  prohibited  in  a  written  law.  The  right  to 
expect  the  truth  in  the  statements  of  others,  the 

(25) 


140  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

right  to  hold  and  use  property  acquired  by  lawful 
means,  the  right  to  demand  marital  faithfulness 
in  husband  or  wife,  and  the  right  to  one's  own 
life,  are  natural  and  inalienable  rights  which  are 
not  created  by  any  formal  legislation.  Laws 
stating  these  rights  are  binding  upon  all  men, 
and  can  never  be  innocently  disregarded.  We 
do  not  limit  his  power  when  we  reverently  say 
that  God  himself  cannot  repeal  them,  for  he  can 
never  make  wrong  right,  or  right  wrong.  There 
can  never  be  any  occasion  for  repealing  them  so 
long  as  the  present  order  of  things  exists.  The 
law  of  property  or  of  marriage  may  not  be  need- 
ed in  another  state  of  existence;  but  we  cannot 
conceive  of  changes  which  will  make  it  right  to 
lie.  Such  are  the  differences  between  positive 
and  moral  precepts. 

It  is  not  claimed  that  all  moral  laws  are  so 
obviously  written  on  the  nature  of  things  that 
men  will  at  once  discover  them  and  see  the 
reason  for  their  existence.  It  is  claimed  only 
that  such  a  reason  exists,  and  that  it  may  be 
perceived  when  any  such  law  is  promulgated. 

Though  this  distinction  between  positive  and 
moral  precepts  is  a  useful  one,  it  is  not  to  be  sup- 
posed that  every  law  which  God  has  given  to 
men  in  the  Scriptures  is  wholly  moral  or  wholly 
positive.      Some    of   the    commands    which   are 

(26) 


The  Command  Part  of  Moral  Law.       141 

plainly  moral  in  their  foundation  and  substance 
were  to  be  enforced,  among  the  Hebrews,  by 
rules  and  regulations  which  were  positive  and 
temporary  in  their  character.  Illustrations  of 
this  fact  may  be  found  in  \\\q  methods  according 
to  which  adultery  was  to  be  detected  and  man- 
slaughter avenged.  The  sixth  and  seventh  com- 
mandments are  a  part  of  the  moral  law ;  and  yet 
the  methods  of  dealing  with  offences  against 
them  were  evidently  meant  to  be  temporary. 
The  fourth  commandment  belongs  to  the  same 
class  :  it  was  moral  in  its  substance,  and  so  of 
universal  and  perpetual  obligation,  while  at  the 
same  time  it  had  certain  positive  and  transient 
elements.  These  will  be  considered  in  subse- 
quent chapters.  Our  present  business  is  to  show 
that,  in  its  substance,  it  is  a  part  of  the  moral 
law.  In  maintaining  this  position  we  will  follow 
five  distinct  lines  of  proof  which  have  been  found  : 
(1)  in  the  fact  that  it  forms  an  integral  part  of 
the  decalogue,  which  was  promulgated  in  circum- 
stances of  such  significance  as  to  warrant  us  in 
asserting  that  God  meant  to  honor  it  as  a  sum- 
mary of  the  moral  law ;  (2)  in  the  fact  that  it  is 
founded  in  the  nature  of  things ;  (3)  in  the  fact 
that  the  Sabbath  is  necessary  to  man  in  order 
that  he  may  perform  some  of  his  highest  duties — 
duties  which  he  cannot  neglect  without  violating 

(27) 


142  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

moral  obligations ;  (4)  in  the  severity  of  the  pen- 
alties which  were  attached  to  violations  of  this 
command ;  and  (5)  in  the  importance  which  was 
given  to  it  by  the  prophets  and  teachers  of  Is- 
rael. Let  us  consider  these  arguments  in  the 
order  here  suggested. 

I.  We  claim  that  the  command  to  keep  the 
Sabbath  is  a  part  of  the  moral  law,  because  it  is 
placed  in  direct  connection  with  other  commands 
that  are  obviously  moral.  It  is  true  that  moral 
and  positive  precepts  are  sometimes  spoken  of 
in  the  same  connection.  This  occurs  in  one  or 
two  condensed  summaries  of  the  commands  which 
God  had  laid  upon  the  Hebrew  people.  But  the 
passage  containing  the  decalogue  is  plainly  not 
one  of  this  kind.  It  is  universally  admitted  that 
it  is  a  summary  of  the  moral  law.  It  was  given 
in  circumstances  of  peculiar  solemnity.  An- 
nouncements were  made  to  the  people  leading 
them  to  expect  something  very  unusual.  When 
the  appointed  day  arrived,  the  utterance  of  these 
commands  was  accompanied  by  "thunders  and 
lightnings,  and  a  thick  cloud  upon  the  mount, 
and  the  voice  of  the  trumpet  exceeding  loud,"* 
and  fire  and  thick  smoke,  and  the  quaking  of  the 
mountain.     These  signs  indicated  that  the  com- 


*  Exodus  19:16. 
(28) 


The  Command  Part  of  Moral  Law.       143 

mands  of  the  Lord  on  that  occasion  were  to  have 
peculiar  weight.  They  were  thus  sei^  apart  from 
all  others  and  given  a  special  significance.  No 
other  commands  were  given  at  that  time.  From 
the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  passage  which 
contains  them,  not  a  word  is  said  of  rites  and 
ceremonies.  Hooker  very  eloquently  describes 
this  difference  between  the  ten  commandments 
and  the  ceremonial  law  in  the  following  words  : 
"  They  were  not  both  at  one  time  delivered, 
neither  both  after  one  sort  nor  to  one  end. 
The  former  uttered  by  the  voice  of  God  him- 
self in  the  hearing  of  six  hundred  thousand 
men;  the  former  written  with  the  finger  of 
God;  the  former  termed  by  the  name  of  a 
covenant;  the  former  given  to  be  kept  with- 
out either  mention  of  time  how  long  or  of  place 
where.  On  the  other  side,  the  latter  given  after, 
and  neither  written  by  God  himself  nor  given 
unto  the  whole  multitude  immediately  from  God, 
but  unto  Moses,  and  from  him  to  them  both  by 
word  and  writing;  the  latter  termed  ceremonies, 
judgments,  ordinances,  but  nowhere  covenants ; 
finally,  the  observance  of  the  latter  restrained 
unto  the  land  where  God  would  establish  them 
to  inhabit."*     These  commandments  were  twice 


*  "Ecclesiastical  Polity,"  bk.  iii.  11,  6. 

(29) 


144  The  Sahhath  made  for  All. 

inscribed  by  the  finger  of  God  upon  tables  of 
stone.  Tli«y  are  frequently  referred  to  in  both 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments  in  a  way  to  indi- 
cate that  they  are  entitled  to  peculiar  respect. 

Now,  is  it  not  a  violent  and  unnatural  pro- 
cedure to  wrench  one  of  these  commandments 
from  its  connection  and  say  that  while  nine  of 
them  are  moral,  this  one  is  positive  ?  They  are 
all  addressed  to  the  Jews ;  so  that,  if  this  affects 
one,  it  affects  all.  One  of  them,  which  is  con- 
fessedly moral,  has  a  promise  attached  to  it 
which  seems  to  have  been  addressed  expressly 
to  them.  The  fifth  commandment  is,  "Honor 
thy  father  and  thy  mother :  that  thy  days  may 
be  long  in  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God 
giveth  thee."*  Because  this  promise  has  no 
immediate  application  to  us,  does  it  follow  that 
children  are  absolved  from  the  duty  of  treating 
their  parents  with  affection  and  respect?  Un- 
less some  very  good  reason  can  be  given  for 
removing  it,  the  fourth  commandment  must  stand 
as  part  of  the  moral  law.  It  may  be  said  that 
such  a  reason  appears  in  the  fact  that  it  has  no 
natural  foundation  like  that  upon  which  the  other 
commands  rest. 

II.  We  assert  that  it  has,  and  this  is  our  sec- 


*  Exodus  20  :  12. 
(30) 


The  Command  Part  of  Moral  Law.       145 

ond  reason  for  claiming  that  it  is  a  moral  precept. 
In  proving  that  the  Sabbath  was  necessary  to 
the  welfare  of  man,  we  have  given  it  a  natural 
foundation.  Why  is  it  wrong  to  lie  or  steal? 
Chiefly  because  lying  and  stealing  are  destruct- 
ive of  the  best  interests  of  mankind.  If  the 
truth  were  rarely  or  never  told,  so  that  men  had 
no  confidence  in  one  another,  and  if  the  rights 
of  property  were  never  respected,  civilization 
and  progress  would  be  impossible.  Truth-tell- 
ing and  honesty — even  the  kinds  that  can  be 
enforced  by  law — are  absolutely  essential  to  the 
welfare  of  man.  The  law  of  the  Sabbath  has 
exactly  the  same  foundation  in  the  nature  of 
things.  Man  cannot  prosper  and  reach  a  high 
destiny  without  the  observance  it  enjoins.  It  is 
true  that  it  is  in  the  first  table  of  the  law,  and 
the  duties  it  requires  are  primarily  duties  to 
God ;  but  this  does  not  make  it  unnecessary  to 
perform  them,  unless  we  deny  that  we  lose  any- 
thing by  neglecting  our  duties  to  him.  How- 
ever, the  point  we  wish  here  to  enforce  is  that 
the  law  of  the  Sabbath  cannot  be  violated  with- 
out injury  to  ourselves.  Self-love  is  a  duty. 
While  selfishness — the  mere  gratification  of  low 
desires,  or  the  pursuit  of  our  own  advantage  at 
the  expense  of  others — is  forbidden,  we  are 
bound   to   care    for   our   own   highest   interests. 

10  (31) 


146  The  Sahhath  made  for  All. 

Every  man  is  under  obligation  to  make  the  most 
of  himself,  to  secure  the  fullest  development  of 
all  his  powers.  He  ought  also  to  adopt  and 
advocate  that  method  of  life  which,  in  general, 
would  bring  about  the  best  results  for  the  race, 
if  it  were  adopted  by  all  men.  If  these  prin- 
ciples are  correct — and  we  do  not  see  how  their 
correctness  can  be  denied — the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath  takes  its  place  among  universal  duties. 
If  it  is  essential  to  the  welfare  of  man,  he  who 
disregards  it  neglects  an  important  part  of  the 
first  duty  which  he  owes  to  himself  and  to  his 
fellow  men.  If  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man — 
for  the  promotion  of  his  higher  interests — the 
fourth  commandment  must  remain  a  part  of  the 
moral  law. 

III.  A  third  reason  for  this  position  is  that 
the  Sabbath  is  necessary  to  the  performance  of 
some  of  man's  most  important  duties  and  to  the 
enjoyment  of  some  of  his  highest  privileges. 
These  belong  to  all  men ;  but  if  the  Sabbath  was 
not  meant  for  all,  they  are  rendered  impossible 
to  some.  They  are  duties  and  privileges  which 
do  not  change  with  the  lapse  of  time ;  but  if  the 
law  of  the  Sabbath  has  ceased  to  be  obligatory, 
they  have  now  passed  beyond  the  reach  of  man. 
A  study  of  the  purposes  of  the  Sabbath,  in  this 
respect,  will  make  it  evident  that  the  command 

(32) 


The  Command  Part  of  Moral  Law.       147 

to  observe  it  is  a  moral  precept.  The  most  im- 
portant of  these  purposes  were — (1)  To  celebrate  ,' 
the  creation  of  the  world.  It  is  plainly  implied 
that  the  Sabbath  was  appointed  as  a  perpetual 
memorial  of  the  fact  that  in  six  days  God  cre- 
ated the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  rested  on  the 
seventh  day  *  Men  would  need  such  a  memorial, 
or  they  would  forget  the  fact.  The  Sabbath  and 
knowledge  of  the  origin  of  the  world  were  lost 
together.  Then  came  vain  speculations  and  fool- 
ish theories  which  have  not  yet  become  things 
of  the  past.  It  is  important  for  man  to  know 
and  remember  the  truth  in  this  matter.  If  the 
world  and  its  inhabitants  were  "evolved"  or 
have  "developed"  from  chaotic  matter,  man's 
destiny  and  duty  are  very  different  from  what 
they  would  be  in  case  the  Bible  account  of  cre- 
ation is  true.  The  Sabbath  is  a  constant  reminder 
of  the  fact,  which  we  apprehend  by  faith,  that 
"  the  worlds  were  framed  by  the  word  of  God, 
so  that  things  which  are  seen  were  not  made  of 
things  which  do  appear."  f  (2)  To  keep  alive 
in  the  minds  of  men  the  knowledge  of  God. 
This  point  is  very  closely  related  to  what  pre- 
cedes ;  for  if  men  remember  that  God  created  the 


*  Genesis  2  :  2,  3  ;  Exodus  20  :  11. 
t  Hebrews  11  :  3. 

(33) 


148  The  Sahhath  made  for  AIL 

world,  they  will  not  altogether  forget  him.  And 
yet,  irrespective  of  their  theory  of  creation,  there 
is  a  constant  tendency  among  men  to  lose  the 
consciousness  of  God  from  their  minds.  The 
heathen  are  described  as  "  the  nations  that  forget 
God";*  and  we  know  how  universal  that  state 
was  before  the  coming  of  Christ.  The  Sabbath 
reminds  men  that  they  are  in  a  world  which  God 
created  and  sustains ;  that  they  themselves  are 
the  creatures  of  his  care  and  subject  to  his  laws ; 
and  that  he  has  made  himself  known  by  inter- 
positions on  their  behalf.  The  Sabbath,  as  re- 
established on  Sinai,  reminded  the  Jews  of  their 
deliverance  from  Eg\^pt ;  and  as  confirmed  by  the 
apostles  reminds  Christians  of  the  resurrection 
of  their  Lord.  It  stands  as  God's  day,  made 
holy  unto  him,  and  thus  keeps  alive  our  knowl- 
edge of  him.  (3)  To  give  men  opportunity  to 
think  of  eternal  things  and  to  care  for  their  souls. 
As  we  have  already  shown,  the  inevitable  tend- 
ency of  constant  occupation  in  secular  pursuits 
is  to  make  men  forget  the  spiritual  and  to  live 
only  for  the  carnal  and  the  present.  They  need 
to  have  their  minds  called  off  from  these  things 
and  turned  toward  those  that  are  higher.  It  is 
of  little  use  to  remind  them  of  the  existence  and 

*  Psalm  9:17. 
(34) 


The  Command  Part  of  Moral  Law.       149 

claims  of  God,  if  no  opportunity  is  given  them 
to  worship  him  and  to  study  his  word.  To  make 
such  a  reminder  of  any  value,  a  set  time  must  be 
fixed  when  ordinary  occupations  shall  cease,  so 
that  all  may  be  released  from  w^ork  on  the  same 
day,  and  gather  for  public  worship.  Men  need 
complete  change  from  secular  work  in  order  that 
their  minds  may  be  free  to  acquire  knowledge 
and  receive  impressions  from  God  through  his 
accredited  messengers.  It  is  only  thus  that 
they  can  be  prepared  for  life  in  this  world,  or 
for  their  eternal  destiny.  (4)  To  afford  rest 
and  recuperation  for  the  body.  It  has  been 
shown  that  this  is  a  universal  and  pressing  need. 
It  is  a  blessed  privilege,  making  almost  the  dif- 
ference between  slaves  and  freemen  for  the  great 
mass  of  mankind. 

Now,  in  what  sense  does  any  one  of  these  pur- 
poses affect  a  Jew  more  than  any  other  man? 
If  a  Sabbath,  given  with  these  ends  in  view,  was 
good  for  one  people,  why  is  it  not  good  for  all 
peoples  ?  How  can  any  of  these  purposes  be 
temporary  or  provisional  ?  They  are  good  things 
in  themselves,  and  are  not  preparatory  to  some- 
thing higher  in  the  future  earthly  life  of  the  race. 
If  they  are  provisional  at  all,  it  is  only  with  re- 
spect to  the  future  world.  Is  it  not  good  for  all 
men  to  remember  that  God  created  the  world, 

(35) 


150  The  Sahhath  made  for  AIL 

and  that  ho  still  reigns  and  claims  our  worship 
and  obedience  ?  Do  not  all  men  need  to  care  for 
their  souls,  and  to  have  physical  rest  in  order 
that  they  may  recuperate  their  strength  ?  These 
privileges  are  also  duties.  To  remember  God  as 
Creator,  Ruler  and  Redeemer,  to  worship  him,  to 
come  out  of  the  confusion  and  noise  of  the  world's 
work  and  listen  to  his  voice  in  the  midst  of  Sab- 
bath stillness,  to  meditate  upon  the  eternal  future, 
and  to  care  for  the  soul's  interests,  are  among  the 
primary  duties  of  all  men.  If  these  are  duties 
which  cannot  be  performed  without  the  Sabbath, 
then  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  is  a  moral 
duty.  These  are  so  connected  that  to  disregard 
the  latter  is  to  neglect  all  the  others.  A  man  is 
put  in  charge  of  a  house  and  bidden  to  keep  it  in 
good  repair.  He  digs  out  its  foundation  so  that 
the  house  falls,  and  then  justifies  himself  by  say- 
ing that  he  was  not  told  to  care  for  the  founda- 
tion. The  plea  is  insufferably  silly,  but  it  is 
exactly  the  argument  which  men  use  when  they 
say  that  the  command  to  keep  the  Sabbath  is 
not  a  part  of  the  moral  law.  They  would  de- 
stroy the  possibility  of  performing  certain  pri- 
mary and  important  duties,  and  then  deny  that 
there  was  any  immorality  in  the  act.  They 
would  make  men  godless,  and  then  say  that 
their  deed  was  not  ungodly. 

(36) 


The  Command  Part  of  Moral  Law.       151 

IV.  This  view  of  the  fourth  commandment  is 
confirmed  by  the  penalty  which  was  attached  to 
disobedience  of  it.  Under  the  Jewish  law  Sab- 
bath-breakers were  adjudged  worthy  of  death. 
No  such  penalty  was  ever  attached  to  a  cere- 
monial law.  The  violation  of  those  that  were 
most  important  incurred  no  greater  penalty  than 
separation  from  the  congregation  of  Israel  and 
forfeiture  of  its  privileges.  The  question  here 
is  not  whether  that  penalty  was  meant  to  be  per- 
petual and  ought  now  to  be  inflicted.  On  this 
point  there  would  be  no  dispute.  We  are  not 
now  under  a  formal  theocracy,  and  the  death- 
penalty  is  not  inflicted  for  sins,  but.  only  for  cer- 
tain crimes.  The  abolition  of  the  penalty,  how- 
ever, does  not  imply  the  abrogation  of  the  com- 
mand. If  this  were  the  case,  the  commands  for- 
bidding idolatry,  abusing  a  parent,  and  adultery, 
would  also  be  abrogated,  for  under  the  Hebrew 
law  those  who  disobeyed  them  were  punished 
with  death.-'^  But  the  severe  penalty  does  clearly 
distinguish  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  from  the  cer- 
emonial law.  It  shows  that  more  importance 
was  attached  to  it  than  to  any  law  not  having  a 
moral  bearing. 

V.  Finally,  we  believe  that  the  fourth  com- 

*For  a  complete  answer  to  this  objection  see  Chapter  XIII. 

(37) 


152  The  Sahhath  made  for  AIL 

mandment  is  part  of  the  moral  law  because  the 
inspired  teachers  so  often  and  so  emphatically 
speak  of  the  violation  of  the  Sabbath  as  a  great 
sin,  and  of  its  observance  as  a  practice  which 
secures  the  blessing  of  God.  The  command  to 
keep  it  holy  is  repeated  five  times  in  the  book 
of  Exodus,  twice  in  Leviticus  and  once  in  Deu- 
teronomy. If  we  turn  to  the  prophets,  we  find 
that  they  place  Sabbath-keeping  among  the  most 
important  virtues,  such  as  keeping  judgment  and 
doing  justice.  Says  Isaiah,  "  Thus  saith  the 
Lord,  Keep  ye  judgment,  and  do  justice  :  for  my 
salvation  is  near  to  come,  and  my  righteousness 
to  be  revealed.  Blessed  is  the  man  that  doeth 
this,  and  the  son  of  man  that  layeth  hold  on  it; 
that  keepeth  the  sabbath  from  polluting  it,  and 
keepeth  his  hand  from  doing  any  evil.  Neither 
let  the  son  of  the  stranger,  that  hath  joined  him- 
self to  the  Lord,  speak,  saying,  The  Lord  hath 
utterly  separated  me  from  his  people :  neither 
let  the  eunuch  say,  Behold,  I  am  a  dry  tree. 
For  thus  saith  the  Lord  unto  the  eunuchs  that 
keep  my  sabbaths,  and  choose  the  things  that 
please  me,  and  take  hold  of  my  covenant;  even 
unto  them  will  I  give  in  mine  house  and  within 
my  walls  a  place  and  a  name  better  than  of  sons 
and  of  daughters  :  I  will  give  them  an  everlast- 
ing  name,  that  shall  not  be  cut  off.     Also  the 

(38) 


The  Command  Part  of  Moral  Law.       153 

sons  of  the  stranger,  that  join  themselves  to  the 
Lord,  to  serve  him,  and  to  love  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  to  be  his  servants,  every  one  that  keepeth 
the  sabbath  from  polluting  it,  and  taketh  hold 
of  my  covenant;  even  them  will  I  bring  to  my 
holy  mountain,  and  make  them  joyful  in  my 
house  of  prayer  :  their  burnt  offerings  and  their 
sacrifices  shall  he  accepted  upon  mine  altar;  for 
mine  house  shall  be  called  an  house  of  prayer 
for  all  people."*  Also,  "If  thou  turn  away  thy 
foot  from  the  sabbath,  fro7n  doing  thy  pleasure 
on  my  holy  day ;  and  call  the  sabbath  a  delight, 
the  holy  of  the  Lord,  honorable ;  and  shalt  honor 
him,  not  doing  thine  own  ways,  nor  finding  thine 
own  pleasure,  nor  speaking  thine  oum  words; 
then  shalt  thou  delight  thyself  in  the  Lord ;  and 
I  will  cause  thee  to  ride  upon  the  high  places 
of  the  earth,  and  feed  thee  with  the  heritage  of 
Jacob  thy  father :  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord 
hath  spoken  it."f  The  message  of  Jeremiah  on 
this  subject  was :  "  Thus  said  the  Lord  unto 
me;  Go  and  stand  in  the  gate  of  the  children 
of  the  people,  whereby  the  kings  of  Judah 
come  in,  and  by  the  which  they  go  out,  and 
in  all  the  gates  of  Jerusalem ;  and  say  unto 
them.  Hear  ye  the  word  of  the  Lord,  ye  kings 


*  Isaiah  5G  :  1-7.  f  I^i^.,  58  :  13,  14. 

(39) 


154  The  Sabbath  made  for  AIL 

of  Judah,  and  all  Judah,  and  all  the  inhabitants 
of  Jerusalem,  that  enter  in  by  these  gates  :  thus 
saith  the  Lord ;  Take  heed  to  yourselves,  and  , 
bear  no  burden  on  the  sabbath  day,  nor  bring 
it  in  by  the  gates  of  Jerusalem;  neither  carry 
forth  a  burden  out  of  your  houses  on  the  sabbath 
day,  neither  do  ye  any  work,  but  hallow  ye  the 
sabbath  day,  as  I  commanded  your  fathers.  But 
they  obeyed  not,  neither  inclined  their  ear,  but 
made  their  neck  stiff,  that  they  might  not  hear, 
nor  receive  instruction.  And  it  shall  come  to 
pass,  if  ye  diligently  hearken  unto  me,  saith  the 
Lord,  to  bring  in  no  burden  through  the  gates 
of  this  city  on  the  sabbath  day,  but  hallow  the 
sabbath  day,  to  do  no  work  therein;  then 
shall  there  enter  into  the  gates  of  this  city 
kings  and  princes  sitting  upon  the  throne  of 
David,  riding  in  chariots  and  on  horses,  they, 
and  their  princes,  the  men  of  Judah,  and  the  in- 
habitants of  Jerusalem  :  and  this  city  shall  re- 
main for  ever."*  The  severest  judgments  were 
announced  against  those  who  profaned  the  Sab- 
bath. We  have  seen  that  the  death  penalty  was 
attached  to  its  violation  by  individuals.  When 
the  people  generally  disregarded  it,  they  called 
down  upon  themselves  by  that  act  the  judgment 

*  Jeremiah  17:19-25. 
(40) 


The  Command  Part  of  Moral  Law.       155 

of  an  offended  God.  In  immediate  connection 
with  the  passage  just  quoted  from  Jeremiah,  we 
read,  "But  if  ye  will  not  hearken  unto  me  to 
hallow  the  sabbath  day,  and  not  to  bear  a  bur- 
den, even  entering  in  at  the  gates  of  Jerusalem 
on  the  sabbath  day ;  then  will  I  kindle  a  fire  in 
the  gates  thereof,  and  it  shall  devour  the  palaces 
of  Jerusalem,  and  it  shall  not  be  quenched."* 
Ezekiel,  acting  as  the  mouthpiece  of  the  Lord, 
thus  explains  some  of  the  past  judgments  upon 
Israel :  "  Yet  also  I  lifted  up  my  hand  unto  them 
in  the  wilderness,  that  I  would  not  bring  them 
into  the  land  which  I  had  given  them,  flowing 
with  milk  and  honey,  which  is  the  glory  of  all 
lands;  because  they  despised  my  judgments,  and 
walked  not  in  my  statutes,  but  polluted  my  sab- 
baths:  for  their  heart  went  after  their  idols."f 
In  passages  like  this  the  profaning  of  the  Sab- 
bath is  certainly  not  classed  with  violations  of 
the  ceremonial  law.  Those  stern  preachers  of 
righteousness,  the  prophets,  cared  little  for  rites  ' 
and  ceremonies.  They  distinctly  announced  that 
sacrifices  and  offerings  and  formal  assemblies  were 
offensive  to  God  if  the  hearts  of  the  people  were 
not  in  them.  But  the  keeping  of  the  Sabbath  is 
described  as  something  which  he  will  rigidly  re- 


*  Jeremiah  17  :  24-27.  f  Ezekiel  20  :  15,  16. 

(41) 


156  The  Sahhatk  made  for  All. 

quire.  If  they  use  it  for  their  own  purposes,  if 
they  secularize  it,  or  if  they  use  it  for  the  wor- 
ship of  idols,  they  may  expect  his  judgments. 

From  these  considerations  it  seems  clear  that 
the  fourth  commandment  is  part  of  the  moral 
law.  As  such  it  is  for  all  men  and  for  every 
age.  Just  as  every  man  is  bound  not  to  lie  or 
steal  or  commit  murder,  or  worship  idols,  or  take 
the  name  of  God  in  vain,  so  he  is  bound  to  keep 
a  Sabbath.  It  is  not  a  question  of  expediency, 
except  as  the  right  is  always  expedient.  It  may 
be  that  the  necessity  for  keeping  the  Sabbath 
would  not  have  been  discovered  by  man  as  soon 
as  the  necessity  for  truth-telling  or  honesty  or 
chastity,  because  his  interests  are  more  indirectly 
affected  by  it ;  but  now  that  it  has  been  revealed, 
it  is  easy  to  understand  that  the  law  enforcing 
it  is  a  moral  law  which  can  never  be  annulled. 
After  we  have  made  the  most  of  the  positive  ele- 
ments which  it  contains — and  we  are  willing 
they  should  all  be  eliminated — there  is  still  a 
moral  element  in  this  law  that  makes  it  binding 
upon  the  consciences  of  all  men.  That  element 
of  the  law  enjoins  the  duty  of  reserving  one  sev- 
enth of  our  time  from  worldly  pursuits  and  mak- 
ing it  holy  unto  the  Lord.  The  manner  in  which 
this  is  to  be  done  will  appear  as  the  subject  is 
more  fully  developed. 

(42) 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE  LAW  OF  THE  SABBATH  HAS  NEVER  BEEN 
REPEALED. 

Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the  law,  or  the  prophets: 
I  am  not  come  to  destroy,  but  to  fulfil.  For  verily  I  say  unto 
you,  Till  heaven  and  earth  pass,  one  jot  or  one  tittle  shall  in  no 
wise  pass  from  the  law,  till  all  be  fulfilled. — Matt.  5  :  17,  18. 

Do  we  then  make  void  the  law  through  faith  ?  God  forbid  : 
yea,  we  establish  the  law. — Rom.  3  :  31. 

If  the  conclusions  of  the  preceding  chapter  are 
just,  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  can  never  be  abro- 
gated. So  far  as  it  is  a  moral  law  it  must  remain 
binding  upon  all  men  while  the  world  •  stands. 
The  positive,  but  not  the  moral,  elements  can  be 
changed.  But  those  who  claim  that  it  is  only  a 
positive  precept  assert  that  it  has  gone  by,  with 
all  the  rest  of  the  old  dispensation.  Some  who 
teach  that  Sunday  should  be  used,  in  conformity 
to  the  example  of  the  apostles,  to  celebrate  the 
resurrection  of  our  Lord,  deny  that  the  Mosaic 
law  concerning  the  Sabbath  has  any  relation  to 
us,  or  that  the  Christian  Sabbath  has  been  substi- 
tuted for  the  Jewish.  This  view  has  been  most 
fully  elaborated  by  Dr.  Hessey  in  his  lectures  on 
"  Sunday."  He  concludes  the  fourth  lecture  with 
these  remarks  :  "  First,  that  the   Sabbath,  prop- 

(43) 


158  The  Sahbath  made  for  All. 

erly  so   called,  the    Sabbath   of  the   Jews,  with 
everything  connected  with  it,  as  a  positive  ordi- 
nance, w^as  swept  away  by  Christianity.   Secondly, 
that  this  is  without  prejudice  to  the  Lord's  day. 
Thirdly,  that  it  is  not  necessary  to  seek,  for  the 
Lord's  day,  either  identity  in  substance  or  direct- 
ly antitypical  connection  with    the    Sabbath."* 
No  language  could  assert  more  plainly  that  the 
Sabbath   commanded   on   Sinai  has   disappeared, 
and  that  the  Lord's  day,  or  Christian  Sabbath,  is 
an  entirely   new  institution.     He  is  not  by  any 
means  alone  in  his  view  that  the  Jewish  Sabbath 
has  wholly  disappeared.     F.  W.  Robertson,  after 
speaking  of  the  reasons  which  the   early  Chris- 
tians found  for  observing  Sunday  as  a  sacred  day, 
says  :  "  Carefully  distinguish  this,  the   true  his- 
torical view  of  the  origin  of  the  Lord's  day,  from 
the  mere  transference  of  a  Jewish  Sabbath  from 
one  day  to  another.     For  St.  Paul's  teaching  is 
distinct  and  clear  that  the  Sabbath  is  annulled."  -^ 
From  the  connection  it  is  plain  that  he  means  to 
assert   that  the   fourth   commandment  has  been 
completely   and    finally    abrogated.     In    another 
place  he  maintains  even  more  strongly  its  repeal, 
for  he  says,  "  The  observance  of  one  day  in  seven 


*  Page  128. 

f  Sermons,  second  series,  p.  204. 
(44) 


The  Law  has  never  been  Repealed.         159 

is  purely  Jewish."  *  Of  course  even  that,  if  it 
is  "  purely  "  Jewish,  is  not  binding  upon  us,  and 
a  weekly  Sabbath  grounded  upon  divine  authority 
is  a  thing  of  the  past.  This  opinion  seems  to  be 
shared  by  Dr.  George  B.  Bacon,  for,  in  "  The 
Sabbath  Question,"  he  says,  "  When  I  say  that 
Christianity  superseded  the  Jewish  law,  I  mean 
just  as  Paul  meant,  that  it  superseded  the  whole 
of  the  Jewish  law."  He  explains  his  meaning 
by  the  remark  that  "  it  is  safe  to  ground  all  duty  " 
on  "  an  appeal  to  the  Spirit  of  Christ — to  that 
love  which  is  the  living  power  of  his  kingdom."  f 
We  might  quote  from  others  in  the  same  line,  but 
it  is  not  necessary.  We  have  quoted  from  these 
authors  in  order  to  make  it  evident  that  there  is 
reason  for  taking  pains  to  show  that  the  law  of 
the  Sabbath  has  not  been  annulled.  While  they, 
in  common  with  others  who  share  their  opinion, 
believe  firmly  in  the  Sabbath,  resting  upon  apos- 
tolic example,  and  would  have  it  carefully  ob- 
served, there  are  many  others  who  would  be  glad 
to  be  rid  of  the  Sabbath  altogether,  and  who  find 
reason  for  abolishing  it  in  the  supposed  abolition 
of  the  Jewish  law.  If  that  law  has  been  done 
away,  they  have  good  reason  for  saying  that  there 


*  Sermons,  first  series,  p.  115. 
t  Page  183. 

(45) 


160  The  Sahhath  made  for  AIL 

is  no  longer  any  Sabbath  at  all.  There  is  nothing 
in  the  example  of  the  apostles  to  oblige  the  most 
tender  conscience  to  abstain  from  secular  employ- 
ment on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  if  there  is  no 
other  authority  for  observing  a  weekly  Sabbath. 
Those  who  say  that  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  is 
abolished,  unintentionally  ally  themselves  with 
those  who  would  altogether  destroy  this  blessed 
institution. 

But  we  assert  that  the  law  of  the  Sabbath,  so 
far  as  it  is  a  moral  law,  has  never  been  annulled. 
A  law  can  be  repealed  only  by  the  same  authority 
that  enacted  it.  It  certainly  cannot  be  done  away 
by  those  who  are  subject  to  it.  If  the  law  of  the 
Sabbath,  as  it  appeared  in  the  Ten  Command- 
ments, has  been  abolished,  it  must  have  been  done 
by  some  decree  of  Jehovah.  Where  have  we  the 
record  of  such  a  decree  ?  Through  what  prophet 
or  apostle  was  it  spoken?  Let  us  examine  the 
ground  on  which  the  assertion  that  it  has  been 
set  aside  is  made. 

I.  It  is  claimed  that  Christ  nowhere  re-enacts 
this  law ;  that  he  expressed  sentiments  adverse 
to  the  observance  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath;  and 
that  his  actions  seem  to  indicate  that  he  did  not 
consider  it  binding  upon  himself  or  his  followers. 

With  regard  to  the  first  of  these  statements  it 
is  sufficient  to  say  that  there  was  no  occasion  for 
(46) 


The  Law  has  never  been  Repealed.        161 

re-enacting  it.  The  law  was  still  in  force,  and 
would  remain  so  until  a  direct  announcement  was 
made  that  it  had  been  repealed.  It  was  not  nec- 
essary to  remind  the  Jews  of  it,  for  they  had 
made  the  command  to  keep  the  Sabbath  the  most 
prominent  part  of  the  whole  law.  Misled  by  the 
emphasis  placed  upon  it  in  the  Scriptures,  they 
were  giving  it  disproportionate  importance.  Why 
should  Christ  re-enact  a  law  which  was  so  con- 
stantly in  their  minds,  and  which  was  abused  in 
the  direction  of  over-strict  observance  ?  This  is 
not  the  treatment  we  would  expect  him  to  give 
it ;  we  should  rather  expect  him  to  correct  the 
prevalent  abuses  of  it.  This  was  precisely  his 
course.  In  so  doing  he  plainly  recognized  the 
command  as  still  of  binding  force.  Of  the  whole 
law  he  said,  "  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  de- 
stroy the  law,  or  the  prophets  :  I  am  not  come  to 
destroy,  but  to  fulfil."  *  The  ceremonial  law  he 
would  fulfill,  for  it  had  in  it  a  prophetic  element 
pointing  to  him  and  the  Church  he  would  found ; 
but  the  moral  law  would  remain.  If  any  changes 
were  made  in  it,  it  would  be  in  the  way  of  giving 
its  precepts  a  deeper  significance  by  making  them 
refer  to  the  inner  life  as  well  as  to  the  words  and 
actions.     In  his  discussion  of  the  law,  which  we 


*  Matthew  5  :  17. 
11  (47) 


162  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

find  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  he  corrects 
prevalent  misunderstandings  of  certain  laws ;  in 
other  places  he  does  the  same  for  the  law  of  the 
Sabbath.  On  several  occasions  he  referred  to  the 
decalogue  as  containing  the  moral  law.  When  a 
lawyer  came  to  him  with  the  question,  "  Master, 
which  is  the  great  commandment  in  the  law  ?"  * 
hoping  by  his  answer  to  bring  out  his  antagonism 
to  the  rabbis,  who  had  classified  the  command- 
ments into  great  and  small,  he  gave  a  summary 
of  the  two  tables  of  the  law  as  embodying  our 
whole  duty  to  God  and  man.  This  does  not  look 
much  as  though  he  meant  to  abolish  that  law  or 
any  part  of  it.  To  another  he  said,  "  If  thou 
wilt  enter  into  life,  keep  the  commandments."  f- 
It  is  true  that,  when  asked  to  specify,  he  does 
not  name  them  all,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  he 
abrogated  those  he  did  not  mention.  If  he  did, 
the  first  three  must  go  as  well  as  the  fourth.  In 
the  saying,  "  keep  the  commandments,"  he  seems 
to  confirm  them  all.  These  three  sayings  indi- 
cate plainly  enough  his  attitude  toward  the  law 
in  general.  While  he  would  change  the  spirit  in 
which  men  should  obey  its  precepts,  the  law  it- 
self was  to  remain  unchanged. 

Concerning  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  the  case  is 


*  Matthew  22  :  36.  f  Ibid.,  19:17. 

(48) 


The  Law  has  never  been  Repealed.         163 

even  more  plain.  He  said,  "  The  Sabbath  was 
made  for  man-,  and  not  man  for  the  Sabbath."* 
The  direct  purpose  of  these  words  was  to  correct 
a  misuse  of  the  Sabbath.  The  Jews  had  made  it 
a  burden ;  had  even  gone  so  far  as  to  say  that 
human  life  was  of  little  consequence  compared 
with  keeping  it  inviolate.  Christ  wished  them  to 
understand  that  it  was  intended  to  be  a  blessing 
to  man ;  that  except  for  this  it  was  useless,  and 
that,  therefore,  no  real  human  good  was  to  bo 
sacrificed  for  the  sake  of  a  particular  method  of 
observing  it.  This  is  the  direct  meaning  of  his 
words;  but  indirectly  they  teach  that  the  Sabbath 
was  made  for  all  men,  and  w^as  designed  to  be  a 
universal  and  perpetual  blessing.  It  was  not 
made  for  any  particular  class  or  race  of  men,  but 
for  man,  the  generic  man,  the  whole  human  fam- 
ily. His  words  cannot  be  twisted  into  meaning 
anything  else.  Because  the  definite  article  is  be- 
fore the  Greek  word  for  man,  it  has  been  main- 
tained that  the  reference  is  to  a  particular  class 
of  men,  as  though  Christ  had  said  the  man,  that 
is,  the  Jewish  man.  But  competent  scholars  have 
shown  that  this  is  the  ordinary  method  of  ex- 
pressing in  Greek  the  idea  of  man  in  general. 
The  authors  of  the   Canterbury  version  give  it 

*  Mark   2  :  27. 

(49) 


164  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

this  meaning.  Alford  so  translates  it,  and  com- 
ments accordingly.  Professor  A.  C.  Kendrick,  in 
explaining  this,  remarks,  "  The  Greek  language 
has  no  other  way  of  properly  designating  the 
genus  JiomoT  The  objection  is  too  trivial  to  re- 
quire further  notice.  Christ  certainly  said  that 
the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man.  This  is,  in  effect, 
a  recognition  of  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  as  binding 
upon  all  men,  only  it  must  be  rightly  understood. 
If  Christ  had  intended  to  repeal  this  law,  it  is 
quite  certain  that  we  should  haA^e  from  him  an 
express  statement  to  that  effect.  If  that  had 
been  his  purpose,  he  would  have  declared  it  in  his 
conflicts  with  the  Pharisees  on  the  Sabbath  ques- 
tion. When  they  criticised  him — even  sought  to 
slay  him — on  account  of  his  violation  of  their 
rules  for  keeping  the  Sabbath,  what  could  have 
been  more  natural  than  for  him  to  say,  "  I  abolish 
this  institution  altogether  "  ?  He  did  say,  "  The 
Son  of  man  is  Lord  even  of  the  Sabbath  day,"  * 
asserting  his  right  to  do  with  it  as  he  pleased. 
Why  did  he  not  inform  them  then  that  the  Sab- 
bath was  a  thing  of  the  past  ?  That  would  have 
been  the  easiest  way  to  settle  the  dispute.  He 
was  accustomed  to  go  to  the  root  of  matters. 
Such  a  course  would  have  made  them  no  more 

*  Matthew  12  :  8. 
(50) 


The  Law  has  never  been  Repealed.         165 

angry  than  they  were.  Suppose  a  committee  of 
citizens  in  one  of  our  states  should  wait  upon  a 
legislature  to  complain  that  they  were  violating  a 
law  which  that  legislature  had  already  repealed  : 
would  the  legislature  conceal  their  action  and  go 
into  an  elaborate  argument  to  show  that  they  had 
not  violated  it  in  its  true  meaning  ?  Would  they 
not,  instead,  say  at  once,  "  Why,  we  have  repealed 
that  law ;  it  is  no  longer  binding  upon  any  one  in 
the  state,"  as  the  shortest  and  most  complete  an- 
swer they  could  make  to  the  charge  ?  The  very 
fact  that  Christ  said  nothing  of  the  kind  concern- 
ing the  law  of  the  Sabbath  is  good  proof  that  he 
had  no  intention  of  repealing  it.  We  can  find  no 
words  of  Christ  derogatory  to  this  institution  as 
it  was  originally  established,  or  as  it  was  intended 
to  be  observed.  All  his  utterances  on  the  subject 
were  for  the  purpose  of  removing  misapprehen- 
sions or  of  correcting  abuses.  It  is  strange  that 
he  should  take  so  much  pains  to  establish  the 
Sabbath  upon  a  proper  foundation  and  promote 
right  views  of  it,  if  he  had  any  intention  of  doing 
away  with  the  institution  altogether.  What  his 
corrections  were,  and  how  he  would  have  us  keep 
it,  we  shall  try  to  discover  when  we  come  to  dis- 
cuss the  nature  of  the  Sabbath.*     Our  only  pur- 


*  See  Chapter  XIII. 

(51) 


166  The  Sahhath  made  for  All. 

pose,  at  present,  is  to  show  that  there  is  nothing 
in  his  words  w^hich  indicates  an  intention  on  his 
part  to  abolish  it. 

The  same  is  true  of  his  actions.  There  is  no 
record  that  he  ever  did  anything  upon  the  Sab- 
bath not  consistent  with  its  purposes  from  the 
beginning.  He  healed  the  sick ;  but  works  of 
mercy  on  that  day  were  never  forbidden  except 
in  the  rabbinical  perversions  of  the  Sabbath.  He 
defended  his  disciples  when  they  plucked  a  few 
heads  of  wheat  to  satisfy  their  hunger,  but  this 
was  not  really  work,  any  more  than  the  ordinary 
process  of  eating  is  work ;  and  he  showed  his 
accusers  that  the  law  of  hunger  was  higher  than 
their  view  of  the  Sabbath  law.  It  may  be  said 
that  if  Christ  had  recognized  the  law  of  the  Sab- 
bath as  binding  upon  himself  and  his  disciples, 
they  would  not  have  been  w^alking  in  the  fields 
on  that  day.  But  nothing  is  said  of  the  purpose 
for  which  they  walked.  They  may  have  been 
going  to  or  from'  a  synagogue,  or  to  some  place  of 
assembly  where  Christ  was  to  deliver  one  of  his 
discourses.  The  first  supposition  seems  very 
reasonable  when  we  remember  that  other  Jews 
were  with  them.  We  may  be  sure  that  they 
were  not  on  a  journey  or  walking  for  pleasure,  or 
that  would  have  been  the  ground  of  the  charge 
made  against  them  for  Sabbath-breaking.     It  is 

(52) 


The  Law  has  never  been  Repealed.         167 

said  that  Christ  went  to  a  feast  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  thus  showed  that  he  did  not  regard  the  fourth 
commandment.  The  most  that  can  truly  be  said 
is  that  he  went  on  that  day  to  eat  at  the  house 
of  a  Pharisee.  That  it  was  at  the  house  of  a 
Pharisee  is  sufficient  proof  that  no  violation  of 
the  Sabbath  occurred.  There  is  no  intimation 
that  it  was  a  feast.  It  was  probably  an  ordi- 
nary meal.  Christ  was  not  compelled  by  the  law 
of  the  Sabbath  to  flist;  he  had  no  home  of  his 
own :  why  should  he  not  eat  in  this  house  as 
well  as  in  any  other  ?  Whoever  will  read  this 
chapter*  will  be  compelled  to  admit  that  he 
went  there  for  religious  conversation,  and  that 
nothing  occurred  to  offend  the  strictest  observer 
of  the  true  Sabbath  law. 

It  is  fair  to  conclude  that  Christ  never  in- 
tended to  abolish  the  Sabbath.  The  only  con- 
ceivable ground  for  such  a  statement  is  the  fact 
that  he  opposed  the  notions  of  it  prevalent  in  his 
time.  But  his  efforts  to  correct  these  furnish  the 
best  evidence  that  he  was  desirous  of  preserving 
the  true  Sabbath.  He  said  that  it  became  him  to 
"  fulfil  all  righteousness."  He  voluntarily  placed 
himself  under  the  law/ including  the  law  of  the 
Sabbath.       Thus    he    not    only    maintained    the 


*Luke  14. 

(53) 


168  The  Sahhath  made  for  AIL 

sacredness  of  the  Sabbath  by  his  words,  but  he 
also  kept  it  as  an  example  for  us.  Says  Lyman 
Abbott,  "  Jesus  never  said  or  did  anything  which 
a  reasonable  construction  can  interpret  as  indi- 
cating a  desire  to  pluck  away  from  a  weary  world 
its  divinest  institution,  a  weekly  Sabbath.  He 
distinctly  asserts  that  he  did  not  come  to  abrogate 
the  Mosaic  laws,  but  to  fulfill  them ;  and  the 
Sabbath  will  never  have  its  final  fulfillment  until 
the  day  when  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling 
and  the  weary  are  at  rest.  There  is  no  indica- 
tion that  Jesus  engaged  himself  in  secular  work 
on  the  Sabbath,  or  encouraged  his  disciples  to  do 
so.  If  they  had  plied  their  customary  labor, 
casting  their  nets,  for  example,  on  that  day,  it 
would  certainly  have  been  recorded  against  them. 
But  not  even  Jewish  tradition  contains  any  such 
charge.  His  followers  did  not  understand  that 
he  took  from  them  this  ancient  Jewish  priv- 
ilege." * 

II.  But  do  the  apostles  teach  that  the  fourth 
commandment  is  no  longer  in  force ;  that  it  is  not 
binding  upon  Christians  ?  It  is  asserted  by  many 
that  they  do,  and  appeals  are  made  to  their  epis- 
tles to  maintain  the  assertion.  Let  us  examine 
these  writings  and  see  whether  any  such  view  is 


■■•■  "Jesus  of  Nazareth,"  pp.  203,  204. 
(54) 


The  Law  has  never  been  Repealed.         169 

warranted.  A  general  survey  of  what  they  wrote 
on  the  subject  of  the  Mosaic  law  brings  out  clearly 
three  points  : 

First,  the  ceremonial  law  was  fulfilled  in  the 
death  of  Christ  and  in  the  establishment  of  the 
spiritual  Church,  and  is  no  longer  in  force.  This 
law  was  but  "a  shadow  of  good  things  to  come."* 
There  is  to  be  no  more  a  line  of  priests  to  inter- 
cede between  God  and  his  people,  for  "  we  have  a 
great  high  priest,  that  is  passed  into  the  heavens, 
Jesus  the  Son  of  God."f  No  more  sacrifices  are 
to  be  offered  in  the  temple,  for  "  Christ  was  once 
offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  many."  J  Even  circum- 
cision, the  distinguishing  mark  of  the  Hebrew,  is 
done  away,  "for  in  Jesus  Christ  neither  circum- 
cision availeth  anything,  nor  uncircumcision ;  but 
faith  which  worketh  by  love."  §  That  the  cere- 
monial law  has  thus  passed  away  no  one  will  deny. 

Second,  Christians — believers  in  Christ — are 
no  longer  subject  to  the  law  as  a  standard  of  final 
judgment.  Obedience  to  its  requirements  is  not 
a  condition  of  acceptance  with  God.  Failure  to 
attain  the  absolute  perfection  which  it  requires 
will  not  necessarily  involve  their  condemnation, 
for  they  may  obtain   mercy  and   forgiveness  of 


*  Hebrews  10  :  1.  %  Ibid.,  9  :  28. 

t  Ibid.,  4  :  14.  g  Galatians  5  :  6. 

(55) 


170  The  Sahhath  made  for  AIL 

sins.  "  Christ  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  curse 
of  the  law,  being  made  a  curse  for  us."  *  "  For 
Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to 
every  one  that  believeth."  f  "  There  is,  therefore, 
now  no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in  Christ 
Jesus."  X  "  Ye  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under 
grace."  § 

Third,  true  Christians  are  not  subject  to  the 
bondage  of  the  law.  "  For  the  law  of  the  Spirit 
of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me  free  from 
the  law  of  sin  and  death."  ||  "If  ye  be  led  of 
the  Spirit,  ye  are  not  under  the  law."^  "Ye 
also  are  become  dead  to  the  law."  **  "  We  are 
delivered  from  the  law."  ff  This  is  what  Paul 
meant  by  "  the  glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of 
Grod."  XX  They  are  not  unwilling  subjects  of  the 
law.  Having  been  made  "new  creatures"  in 
Christ,  they  love  God  and  delight  in  his  law. 
They  do  not  feel  its  restrictions  as  a  burden,  for 
they  are  glad  to  observe  them.  They  take  pleas- 
ure in  performing  the  duties  it  enjoins,  and  are 
not  constrained  to  them  by  fear  of  punishment  or 
hope  of  reward.     Thus  they  are  made  free  from 


*  Galatians  3  :  13. 

1[  Galatians  5  :  18. 

f  Romans  10  :  4. 

**  Romans  7  :  4. 

%  Ibid.,  8  :  1. 

ft  Ibid.,  7  :  6. 

§  Ibid.,  6  :  14. 

%%  Ibid.,  8  :  21. 

II  Ibid.,  8  :  2. 
(56) 

The  Law  has  never  been  Repealed.         171 

the  law  by  rising  above  it.     Thus  "  love  is  the 
fulfilling  of  the  law." 

A  fourth  point  seems  equally  clear,  namely, 
that  the  law  still  remains  as  a  restraining  and 
constraining  power  upon  those  who,  because  of 
weak  faith,  do  not  enjoy  this  liberty,  and  as  a 
rule  of  conduct  for  all,  ''  enlightening  the  eyes  " 
even  of  those  who  have  the  most  perfect  love. 
While  the  Christian  should  be  able  to  obey  its 
precepts  with  a  different  spirit,  he  must  still  obey 
them.  He  cannot  trust  to  his  own  impulses,  even 
when  these  have  been  partly  purified  by  the 
Spirit.  The  "  inner  light "  is  not  always  clear. 
So  much  of  evil  remains  in  us  that,  if  we  trust 
to  our  impulses,  we  shall  be  led  into  vagaries  and 
even  into  positive  sins.  This  has  always  been 
the  history  of  those  who  have  depended  upon  the 
"inner  light."  Men  who  have  maintained  their 
independence  of  the  law  have  become  lawless  in 
the  worst  sense  of  the  word.  True  Christians 
do  not  feel  the  law  as  a  burden,  but  the  best  need 
it  as  a  guide.  If  it  be  said  by  Christians,  "  We 
look  for  instruction  to  Christ  and  his  apostles,  and 
not  to  Moses,"  we  reply  that  Christ  and  his 
apostles  appealed  to  Moses,  and  quoted  his  law 
as  the  best  rule  of  conduct.  The  apostles  make 
this  use  of  it  after  the  death  of  Christ,  by  which, 
in  a  sense,  we  are  freed  from  the  law.    Paul  says, 


172  The  Sabbath  made  for  All. 

"  Wherefore  the  law  is  holy,  and  the  commandment 
holy,  and  just,  and  good."  *  How  could  he  have 
given  it  higher  praise  ?  And  this  he  says  just 
after  the  declaration,  "  We  are  delivered  from  the 
law."  Does  he  mean  that  we  are  delivered  from 
that  which  is  "holy,  and  just,  and  good,"  and 
that  we  are  henceforth  to  disregard  the  things 
required  in  the  law?  Not  at  all.  He  simply 
means  that  we  are  freed  from  the  penalty  and  the 
bondage  of  the  law.  Again  he  says,  "Do  we 
then  make  void  the  law  through  faith  ?  God  for- 
bid :  yea,  we  establish  the  law."  f  Here  his 
meaning  obviously  is  that  the  law  is  not  only 
honored  by  the  redemption  through  Christ,  but  is 
established  in  the  minds  of  those  who  through 
faith  enjoy  this  redemption,  faith  giving  ability 
to  appreciate  its  excellence,  and  power  joyfully 
to  obey  it.  But  he  is  even  more  specific.  When 
he  wants  a  summary  of  our  duties  to  our  fellow 
men,  he  can  do  no  better  than  to  take  the  second 
table  of  the  law.  "  Owe  no  man  anything,  but 
to  love  one  another :  for  he  that  loveth  another 
hath  fulfilled  the  law.  For  this.  Thou  shalt  not 
commit  adultery.  Thou  shalt  not  kill.  Thou  shalt 
not  steal.  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  witness.  Thou 
shalt  not  covet ;  and  if  {here  he  any  other  com- 

^  Romans  7  :  12.  \  Ihid.,  3  :  31. 

(58) 


The  Law  has  never  been  Repealed.         173 

mandment,  it  is  briefly  comprehended  in  this  say- 
ing, namely,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thy- 
self. Love  worketh  no  ill  to  his  neighbor :  there- 
fore love  is  the  fulfilling  of  the  lavr."  *  That  is, 
if  one  loves  his  neighbor  he  will  obey  these  pre- 
cepts, and  will  find  them  easy.  His  obedience 
of  them  will  be  the  test  of  his  love.  Again  he 
says,  "  Children,  obey  your  parents  in  the  Lord : 
for  this  is  right.  Honor  thy  father  and  mother ; 
which  is  the  first  commandment  with  promise ; 
that  it  may  be  well  with  thee,  and  thou  mayest 
live  long  on  the  earth."  f  How  strange  that  a 
man  who  had  declared  the  law  to  be  "  done  away" 
should  not  only  quote  one  of  its  precepts  as  still 
binding,  but  should  even  adapt  to  the  children  of 
Christians  an  attendant  promise  made  expressly 
to  the  Jews !  Does  this  look  as  though  nothing 
was  to  be  brought  over  from  the  Jewish  law  for 
the  regulation  of  our  lives  ?  Paul  was  hardly  so 
inconsistent  as  to  quote  thus  from  a  law  which 
had  been  abrogated  as  a  rule  of  life.  He  is  not 
alone  in  this  practice.  St.  James  says,  "Who- 
soever shall  keep  the  whole  law,  and  yet  offend 
in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all.  For  he  that 
said.  Do  not  commit  adultery,  said  also.  Do  not 
kill.     Now   if  thou   commit  no  adultery,  yet  if 

*  Romans  13  :  8-10.  f  Ephesians  6  :  1-3. 

(59) 


174  The  Sahhath  made  for  All. 

thou  kill,  thou  art  become  a  transgressor  of  the 
law."  *  What  of  it,  if  the  law  is  annulled  ?  It 
does  not  matter  if  we  violate  obsolete  laws.  But 
James  would  have  said  that  these  laws  were  still 
binding,  and  that  no  one  of  them  could  be  vio- 
lated with  impunity.  His  main  point  is  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  law — the  impossibility  of  wrench- 
ing out  one  of  its  members  without  destroying 
all.  The  way  in  which  Paul  and  James  and 
Peter  and  John  urge  upon  the  Christians  to  whom 
they  write  abstinence  from  certain  specific  sins, 
and  the  performance  of  specific  duties,  shows  that 
those  who  believe  in  Christ  have  need  of  law. 
This  general  view  of  the  relation  of  Christians 
to  the  law  will  help  us  to  understand  what  is 
said  by  Paul  concerning  the  law  of  the  Sabbath. 
It  is  plain  that  no  part  of  the  moral  law  is  abol- 
ished. This  is  still  recognized  as  of  binding  force 
upon  all.  The  law  of  the  Sabbath  is  a  part  of  it, 
and  any  apostolic  precepts  which  appear  hostile 
to  the  Sabbath  must  be  interpreted  in  the  light 
of  this  fact.  Three  passages  are  quoted  from  the 
Pauline  epistles  to  show  that  this  institution  was 
to  be  a  thing  of  the  past.  The  first  is  in  the 
epistle  to  the  Galatians  :  "  But  now,  after  that  ye 
have  known  God,  or  rather  are  known  of  God,  how 

*  James  2:  10,  11. 

(60) 


The  Law  has  never  been  Repealed.         175 

turn  ye  again  to  the  weak  and  beggarly  elements, 
whereunto  ye  desire  again  to  be  in  bondage  ?    Ye 
observe  days,  and  months,  and  times,  and  years. 
I  am  afraid   of  you,  lest  I  have  bestowed  upon 
you  labor  in  vain."  *     This  has  been  interpreted 
as  meaning  that  all  days  are  alike  to  the  Chris- 
tian, and  that  we  subject  ourselves  to  the  yoke 
of  Jewish  bondage  when  we  set  apart  one  day  in 
seven  as  sacred.     A  passage  which  is  supposed 
to  have  a  similar  meaning  is   that  in  Romans, 
which  reads,  "  One  man  esteemeth  one  day  above 
another :  another  esteemeth  every  day  alike.    Let 
every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind. 
He  that  regardeth  the  day,  regardeth  it  unto  the 
Lord ;  and  he  that  regardeth  not  the  day,  to  the 
Lord  he  doth  not  regard  it:'  f    A  passage  thought 
to  be  perfectly  decisive  is  that  which  occurs  in 
Colossians  :  "  Let  no  man  therefore  judge  you  in 
meat,  or  in   drink,  or  in  respeot  of  a  holyday, 
or  of  the  new  moon,  or  of  the  Sabbath  dai/s : 
which  are  a  shadow  of  things  to  come ;  but  the 
body  is  of  Christ."  %     We  desire  to  give  these 
words  a  perfectly  fair  interpretation.     It  is  not 
our  purpose  to  adjust  them  to  a  preconceived 
theory.     But  since  they  are  frequently  quoted  to 


*  Galatians  4  :  9-11.  j  Colossians  2  ;  16,  17. 

t  Romans  14  :  5,  6. 


(61) 


176  The  Sahhath  made  for  AIL 

prove  that  the  Sabbath  is  abolished,  it  is  neces- 
sary for  us  to  give  them  a  careful  examination. 
We  shall  most  readily  arrive  at  their  meaning  by 
taking  into  account  the  intention  of  Paul  in  writ- 
ing them.  What  was  his  purpose  ?  What  did 
he  mean  to  accomplish  by  these  words  ? 

It  is  well  known  that  the  early  churches  were 
much  troubled  by  Judaizers,  who  attempted  to 
impose  upon  Gentile  Christians  the  observances 
of  the  Jews.  In  many  cases  these  churches  had 
originated  among  the  Jews,  and  these  converts 
from  Judaism  were  prone  to  think  that  Chris- 
tianity was  simply  an  addition  to  their  former 
religion.  Hence  they  kept  up  the  observances 
required  of  them  by  the  Mosaic  law.  Even  cir- 
cumcision, they  insisted,  should  be  continued; 
and  it  was  in  deference  to  them  that  Paul  cir- 
cumcised Timothy.*  They  were  equally  decided 
in  maintaining  that  the  seventh  day  should  be 
observed  as  the  Sabbath,  according  to  the  Jewish 
law.  So  long  as  these  observances  were  not 
directly  antagonistic  to  Christianity,  and  were 
confined  to  Jewish  converts,  they  were  matters 
of  indifference  to  the  apostle.  He  was  content 
to  believe  that  they  would  gradually  cease  as  the 
nature    of    Christianity   was   more   fully   appre- 

*  Acts  16  :  3. 
(62) 


The  Law  has  never  been  Repealed.         177 

hended.  But  when  the  attempt  was  made  to 
require  them  of  the  Gentile  converts,  it  became 
quite  a  different  matter.  Every  such  attempt 
Paul  and  his  colleagues  strongly  opposed.  Paul's 
refusal  to  circumcise*  Titus,  because  the  latter 
was  not  a  Jew,  well  illustrates  his  position. 
They  would  not  allow  Judaism,  an  obsolete  sys- 
tem so  far  as  its  forms  were  concerned,  to  be 
extended  by  means  of  Christianity.  This  became 
one  of  the  burning  questions  of  the  day.  A 
partial  account  of  this  widespread  conflict  is  re- 
corded in  the  fifteenth  chapter  of  Acts  :  "And 
certain  men  which  came  down  from  Judea  taught 
the  brethren,  and  said,  Except  ye  be  circumcised 
after  the  manner  of  Moses,  ye  cannot  be  saved." f 
Paul  and  Barnabas  stoutly  resisted  them.  Aft- 
erward, when  the  matter  was  reported  at  Jeru- 
salem, "  there  rose  up  certain  of  the  sect  of  the 
Pharisees  which  believed,  saying.  That  it  was 
needful  to  circumcise  them,  and  to  command  them 
to  keep  the  law  of  Moses."  J  A  meeting  was 
called  to  deliberate  upon  the  matter,  and  the  de- 
cision finally  reached  was  that  the  apostles  should 
write  to  them  "  that  they  abstain  from  pollutions 
of  idols,  and  from  fornication,  and  from  things 


*  Galatians  2:3.  t  Ibid.,  15  :  5. 

t  Acts  15  :  1. 

12  (63) 


178  The  Sahhath  made  for  All, 

strangled,  and  from  blood,"  *  and  that  no  other 
burden  in  this  respect  be  laid  upon  them.  But 
the  work  of  the  Judaizers  went  on,  nevertheless, 
and  Paul  had  frequent  occasions  to  combat  them. 
Among  the  requirements  which  they  tried  to 
impose  upon  the  Gentiles  was  that  the  latter 
should  observe  the  Jewish  holy  days  and  festivals. 
These  were  very  numerous,  including  not  only 
the  weekly  Sabbath  and  certain  other  "  sabbaths  " 
or  rest-days,  but  also  the  festivals  of  the  new 
moons  and  of  the  various  appointed  feasts;  and 
the  observance  of  them  all  would  constitute  a 
heavy  burden.  The  idea  inculcated  was  that  by 
these  appointments  certain  days  had  been  made 
holy.  It  is  this  idea  which  Paul  combats.  The 
observance  of  times  and  seasons  was  something 
that  belonged  wholly  to  the  Jewish  dispensation. 
To  mark  certain  days  as  holy  because  on  them 
occurred  certain  Jewish  ceremonies  is  the  very 
spirit  of  Judaism.  So  Paul  warns  the  Galatians, 
who  had  yielded  to  this  influence  more  than  the 
other  churches,  that  in  observing  times  and  sea- 
sons they  are  dishonoring  Christ  and  going  back 
to  an  obsolete  ritual.  For  the  same  reason  he 
writes  to  the  Christians  at  Rome  that  while  any 
one  who  feels  that  he  ought  to  observe  these 

*  Acts  15  :  20,  29. 
(64) 


The  Law  has  never  been  Repealed.         179 

days  can  do  so  to  the  glory  of  God,  he  must  not 
make  his  conscience  a  law  for  others,  for  now 
each  man  is  at  liberty  to  observe  them  or  not  as 
he  pleases.  The  passage  quoted  from  the  letter 
to  the  Colossians  does  not  differ  from  this  except 
in  the  fact  that  it  mentions  specifically  the  Sab- 
bath. In  the  original  the  word  translated  "  Sab- 
bath days  "  is  in  the  plural  number,  and  for  this 
reason  some  have  supposed  that  the  reference  is 
to  the  numerous  rest-days  of  the  Jews.  If  this 
were  the  case,  it  would  be  perfectly  clear  that 
Paul  was  opposing  the  doctrines  of  those  who 
would  force  upon  Christians  the  peculiar  observ- 
ances of  the  Jews.  But  it  is  generally  agreed 
among  translators  and  commentators  that  the 
weekly  Sabbath  is  meant,  the  plural  form  being 
commonly  used  to  designate  that  institution.  But 
if  he  does  here  refer  to  the  weekly  Sabbath,  does 
Paul  mean  to  say  that  it  is  abolished  ?  Not  at 
all.  In  this  case,  as  in  the  others,  he  is  opposing 
the  doctrines  of  the  Judaizers.  One  of  their 
strong  points  was  that  the  Sabbath  must  be 
observed  upon  the  seventh  day  of  the  week. 
But  already  the  Gentile  Christians  were  observ- 
ing the  first  day,  and  Paul  wishes  to  show  that 
the  insistence  upon  the  seventh  is  a  part  of  that 
Judaizing  spirit  which  belittles  Christ  by  looking 
for  salvation  to  a  useless  ritual,  and  which  sub- 

(65) 


180  The  Sahhath  made  for  AIL 

verts  Christian  liberty  by  imposing  upon  the  con- 
sciences  of  others   useless  burdens.     While  the 
Jewish  Christians  might,  if  they  chose,  observe 
both  the  seventh-day  Sabbath  and  the  Lord's  day, 
they  must  not  seek  to  force  their  views  upon 
others.     This   is   what  they   were   doing.     Paul 
was  not  writing  to  the   Colossians   against  the 
observance  of  the  Lord's   day  as  a  weekly  Sab- 
bath.    The  action  of  those  who  were  "judging" 
them  would  not  call  for  any  such  counsel  as  that. 
"  It  is  certain  that  the  persons  who  were  judging 
them  were   pressing  the  duty  of  observing  the 
Jewish  Sabbath,  not  the  Christian  Lord's   day." 
In  such  action  there  was  nothing  to  prompt  Paul 
to  write  against  the  observance  of  a  weekly  Sab- 
bath.    There  is  no  intimation  that  the  institution 
is   to  be  abolished.     It  is  only  the  idea  that  it 
must  be  kept  on  a  particular  day  of  the  week 
because  the  Jews  had  kept  it  on  that  day,  which 
he  combats.     No  other  view  is   consistent  with 
his   general  purpose   in  writing  these  passages. 
He  is  contending  against  what  is  Jewish,  and  not 
against  what  is  moral  and  universal.     Keeping  in 
mind  this  purpose,  we  cannot  agree  with  Alford 
when  he  says,  "  It  would  have  been  quite  impos- 
sible for  the  apostle  to  have  spoken  thus  "  *  if  the 


*  Commentary,  in  loco. 
(66) 


The  Law  has  never  been  Repealed.         181 

Sabbath  was  to  have  been  of  perpetual  obligation. 
It  is    only  by   disregarding  the   occasion  which 
prompted  Paul  to  write  and  his  purpose  in  writ- 
ing these  words,  that  ihej  can  be  interpreted  as 
antagonistic    to    the    Sabbath.     Not    to    observe 
these   is   unfair  to   any  writer,  and  violates  the 
first  principle  of  exegesis.    Ellicott,  who  is  better 
authority  than  Alford  on  a  question  of  exegesis, 
says   in  his   comments   on  the  first  of  these  pas- 
sages, "  It  can  scarcely  be  considered  exegetically 
exact  to  urge  this  verse  *  against  any  theory  of  a 
Christian    Sabbath,    when   the    apostle   is    only 
speaking  of   legal   and   Judaizing   observances." 
In  respect  to  the  other  passages,  it  has  been  well 
said  by  Dr.  Riddle  that  Paul  is  certainly  speak- 
ing of  disputed  matters,  and  there  is  no  evidence 
that  there  was,  at  that  time,  any  dispute  about 
the  observance   of  the  Lord's  day  or  Christian 
Sabbath.f     It  is    extremely  improbable  that  he 
would    thus    summarily   abolish    an    institution 
which  had  existed  from  the  beginning,  which  had 
been  re-established  with  special  sanctions  in  the 
moral  law,  which  Christ  had  said  was  made  for 
man,  and  which  he  had  taken  great  pains  to  clear 
from  misconceptions  and  abuses.     If  his  words 


*  Galatians  4  :  10. 

t  Lange  on  Romans,  p.  418,  note. 

(67) 


182  The  Sabbath  made  for  All 

were  capable  of  no  other  interpretation,  we  should 
be  forced  to  accept  this  yiew;  but,  taking  them  in 
their  connection,  this  is  not  even  their  natural 
meaning.  He  is  combating  something  quite  dif- 
ferent from  the  institution  of  the  Sabbath.  We 
are  strengthened  in  this  opinion  when  we  remem- 
ber that  at  this  very  time  Paul  and  his  associates 
were  instructing  the  followers  of  Christ  to  meet 
for  worship  on  a  particular  day,  and  thus  marked 
it  as  the  Lord's  day — a  day  made  holy  to  him. 
Would  he  write  against  the  Sabbath  while  him- 
self observing  the  essentials  of  it  ?  And  this 
fact  shows  also  the  error  of  supposing  that  Paul 
meant  to  teach  by  these  words  that  Christians 
have  no  need  of  a  Sabbath,  since  all  days  are 
alike  holy  to  them.  We  shall  have  occasion  to 
notice  this  theory  again,*  but  may  say  here  that 
it  is  not  founded  upon  the  practice  and  teaching 
of  the  apostles.  The  denial  that  any  special 
sanctity  attaches  to  "  times  and  seasons  "  is  not  a 
denial  that  men  need  seasons  of  release  from  toil 
and  set  times  for  worship.  This  need  is  deep- 
seated  in  the  nature  of  man,  and  none  knew  it 
better  than  Paul.  The  most  advanced  Christians 
not  only  need  such  times,  but  most  thoroughly 
appreciate  and  enjoy  them.     The  result  of  trying 

*  Chapter  XI. 
(68) 


The  Law  has  never  been  Repealed.         183 

to  make  all  days  alike  holy  is  that  all  become 
secularized.  He  who  will  have  a  Sabbath  on 
every  day  will  have  no  Sabbath  at  all. 

Our  conclusion  is  that  there  is  nothing  in  the 
writings  of  the  apostles  which,  when  fairly  inter- 
preted, implies  the  abrogation  of  the  Sabbath. 
They  do  hint  at  certain  changes  in  the  form  of 
the  institution ;  but  the  law  of  the  Sabbath,  in 
its  essence,  is  not  repealed.  They  honored  the 
moral  law  as  the  highest  expression  of  God's  will, 
and  say  no  word  to  indicate  that  the  law  of  the 
Sabbath  was  not  a  part  of  it.  Thus  both  Christ 
and  his  inspired  apostles  have  given  their  sanction 
to  this  institution.  They  have  not  taken  away 
this  choice  gift  of  God  to  men.  Rather,  they 
have  enlarged  and  ennobled  it,  and  shown  us  how 
to  make  it  a  greater  blessing  than  it  ever  was  to 
the  Jews.  The  law  still  stands  and  is  binding 
upon  us,  but  is  no  longer  a  burden.  We  have 
learned  in  Christ  how  to  make  the  Sabbath  "  a 
delight." 


(69) 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    CHRISTIAN    SABBATH    DAY. 

This  day  my  Saviour  rose, 
And  did  enclose  this  light  for  his, 

That,  as  each  beast  his  manger  knows, 
Man  might  not  of  his  fodder  miss. 

Christ  hath  took  in  this  piece  of  ground. 
And  made  a  garden  there  for  those 

Who  want  herbs  for  their  wound. 

George  Herbert. 

Accepting  the  conclusion  that  the  fourth  com- 
mandment is  still  in  force,  it  may  very  properly 
be  asked,  "  Why  then  do  not  Christians  obey  it 
by  keeping  holy  the  seventh  day  of  the  week,  as 
it  directs  ?  By  what  right  is  this  plain  precept 
disregarded  and  the  first  day  of  the  week  ob- 
served ?"  This  question  is  a  natural  one,  and 
unless  a  satisfactory  answer  can  be  given,  the 
Christian  world  must  stand  convicted  of  error. 
The  fact  that  the  observance  of  the  first  day  of 
the  week  is  so  nearly  universal  and  has  been 
of  such  long  continuance  is  very  significant. 
It  suggests  that  there  must  have  been  some 
good  and  sufficient  reason  for  the  change.  Too 
much  should  not  be  made  of  this,  for  the  Church 
has  sanctioned  many  false  doctrines  and  been 
(70) 


The  Christian  Sabbath  Day.  185 

tainted  by  many  corrupt  practices ;  but  no  error 
of  great  magnitude  has  prevailed  almost  without 
question  for  eighteen  centuries.  We  have  taken 
the  custom  of  keeping  the  Sabbath  on  the  first 
day  of  the  week  as  we  found  it ;  and  while  this 
does  not  exempt  us  from  the  duty  of  inquiry,  it 
throws  upon  those  who  question  our  course  "  the 
burden  of  proof."  The  Seventh-day  Baptists  be- 
lieve that  to  separate  the  Sabbath  from  the  day 
on  which  the  Jews  observed  it  is  virtually  to 
destroy  the  institution ;  hence  they  strongly 
hold  that  it  should  be  observed  upon  the  sev- 
enth day  of  the  week.  Others  say  that  if  the 
fourth  commandment  is  binding  upon  us  at  all, 
the  part  which  designates  the  day  is  binding 
also.  But  this,  they  say,  plainly  has  been  abro- 
gated ;  hence  the  Sabbath  is  done  away,  and  we 
must  look  for  other  grounds  on  which  to  base  the 
observance  of  the  Lord's  day.*  These  parties 
agree  as  to  the  necessity  of  a  weekly  day  of  rest 
and  worship.  They  must  not  be  reckoned  as 
enemies  of  the  Sabbath,  and  it  is  unfair  for  oppo- 
nents to  quote  their  views  as  though  they  sought 
the  destruction  of  the  institution.  But  they  are 
widely  at  variance  as  to  the  grounds  on  which 

*F.  W.  Robertson,  Sermons,  first  series,  p.  116;  George 
B.  Bacon,  "Sabbath  Question,"  p.  179;  Hessey,  "Sunday," 
lecture  v. 

(71) 


186  The  Sahhath  made  for  All. 

they  base  its  observance.  We  believe  that  both 
positions  are  untenable,  and  that  a  persistent 
attempt  to  maintain  either  must  result  in  an  in- 
creased disregard  of  the  Sabbath.  Though  their 
conclusions  are  so  different,  the  argument  of  each 
proceeds  from  the  fundamental  error  that  the  Sab- 
bath has  not  been  transferred  from  the  seventh 
to  the  first  day  of  the  v\reek.  It  devolves  upon 
us  to  show  that  such  a  change  was  made,  and  by 
what  authority. 

The  auihority  must  be  sought  in  the  words  or 
in  the  example  of  the  inspired  apostles.  Up  to 
the  time  of  Christ's  death,  no  change  had  been 
made  in  the  day.  We  would  not  expect  to  find 
one  previous  to  that  time ;  for  the  Church  of 
Christ  was  not  really  born  until  the  day  of  Pen- 
tecost. He  had  laid  the  foundation,  but  the  super- 
structure was  to  be  erected  by  his  inspired  apos- 
tles. They  were  appointed  by  Christ  to  organize 
the  Church,  and  to  legislate  for  it  in  respect  to 
all  matters  of  detail.  That  they  would  not  de- 
viate from  his  plans  and  purpose  was  implied  in 
their  inspiration ;  at  the  same  time  he  left  them 
to  be  the  organizers  and  legislators  of  the  Church. 
He  said  to  Peter — not  in  his  personal  capacity, 
but  as  leader  of  the  twelve — "  I  will  give  unto 
thee  the  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven;  .  .  , 
and  whatsoever  thou  shalt  loose  on  earth  shall 
(72) 


The  Christian  Sahbath  Day.  187 

be  loosed  in  heaven."*  That  this  was  meant  for 
all  is  proved  by  its  subsequent  repetition  to  the 
twelve.  Again,  we  read  that  he  said,  "Whose- 
soever sins  ye  remit,  they  are  remitted  unto 
them ;  and  whosesoever  dm  ye  retain,  they  are 
retained."  f  It  is  generally  understood  that  these 
words  gave  to  the  apostles  supreme  authority  in 
legislating  for  the  Church.  One  of  Christ's  part- 
ing promises  to  them  was,  "  When  he,  the  Spirit 
of  truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all 
truth."  J  The  apostles  did  exercise  the  author- 
ity thus  conferred  upon  them.  They  decided, 
in  a  meeting  at  Jerusalem,  how  much  of  Jewish 
law  should  be  laid  upon  Gentile  converts ;  §  they 
gave  directions  concerning  discipline  ;  ||  they  pro- 
nounced anathemas  upon  the  incorrigible  \  \  they 
even  exercised  the  power  of  death,  as  in  the  case 
of  Ananias  and  Sapphira.**  There  can  be  no 
question  about  their  authority  to  make  a  change 
in  such  a  matter  as  the  particular  day  of  the  week 
on  which  the  Sabbath  should  be  observed. 

So  far  as  the  record  shows,  they  did  not,  how- 
ever, give  any  explicit  command  enjoining  the 
abandonment  of  the  seventh-day  Sabbath,  and  its 

*  Matthew  16  :  19.  ||  1  Corinthians  5  :  13. 

t  John  20  :  23.  \  Galatians  1  :  8  ;  1  Timothy  1 :  20. 

%lbid.,  16:13.  **  Acts  5:  5-10. 


I  Acts  15  :  23-29. 


(73) 


188  The  Sahhath  made  for  All. 

observance  on  the  first  day  of  the  week.  If  they 
made  the  change,  it  is  to  be  learned  from  what 
they  did  and  from  directions  which  they  gave  to 
the  churches  on  related  matters.  But  this  is  in 
keeping  with  their  method  of  effecting  other 
changes.  There  is  no  record  that  the  early 
Christians  were  commanded  not  to  circumcise 
their  children,  not  to  eat  the  passover,  and  not 
to  offer  sacrifices ;  and  yet  they  felt  at  liberty  to 
abandon  these  and  other  ceremonies  which  were 
peculiar  to  the  Jews,  and  we  do  not  hesitate  to 
follow  their  example.  On  what  authority  do  we 
neglect  these  things,  which  the  Jews  were  so 
strictly  commanded  to  observe  ?  On  the  author- 
ity of  apostolic  example  and  of  fair  inference 
from  what  they  taught  concerning  the  nature  of 
Christianity  and  the  relation  of  the  Christian  to 
the  Jewish  Church.  These  things  disappeared 
because  they  were  shown  not  to  be  in  keeping 
with  the  religion  of  Christ  in  its  nature  and  pur- 
pose. Here  we  do  not  question  the  authority  of 
apostolic  example.  In  like  manner,  if  it  can  be 
shown  that  they  gave  up  the  seventh-day  Sab- 
bath and  transferred  to  the  first  day  of  the  week 
such  of  its  duties  and  privileges  as  w^ere  in  keep- 
ing with  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  and  forbade 
Jewish  Christians  to  impose  its  observance  upon 
their  Gentile  brethren,  we  need  not,  in  this  also, 
(74) 


The  Christian  Sahhath  Day.  189 

hesitate  to  follow  their  example.  If  they  acted 
with  good  reason  and  under  inspiration^  there  can 
be  little  doubt  that  we  are  bound  to  imitate  them 
in  whatever  pertains  to  our  conduct  as  Christians. 
It  is  not  claimed  that  the  apostles  began  to 
keep  the  Sabbath  on  the  first  day  of  the  w^eek 
immediately  after  the  death  of  Christ.  The 
change  was  a  gradual  one.  This  was  the  case 
with  the  Jewish  converts  in  many  of  their  prac- 
tices. A  sudden  and  violent  change  was  impos- 
sible. It  was  only  as  the  nature  of  Christianity 
was  gradually  learned  that  the  old  rites  and  cer- 
emonies were  dropped  one  by  one.  Thus  the 
disciples  in  Jerusalem  went  to  the  temple  to 
worship;*  they  continued  to  attend  the  services 
which  were  held  in  connection  with  the  sacri- 
fices ;f  Paul  circumcised  Timothy, J  and  he  after- 
ward made  a  vow  which  involved  the  offering  of  a 
sacrifice. §  It  was  in  perfect  keeping  with  their 
general  course  that  the  change  in  the  Sabbath  day 
was  gradual ;  and  this  does  not  make  it  any  the 
less  certain  that  such  a  change  took  place  in  their 
own  practice,  and,  by  the  authority  of  their  ex- 
ample, in  that  of  the  Jewish  converts  who  con- 
stituted so  large   a  part  of  the   early  churches. 


*  Acts  2:  46.  XlUd.,\^'.Z. 

t  Ihid.,  3:1.  I  Ibid.,  21  :  26  5  comp.  Numbers  6  :  3-18. 

(75) 


190  The  Sabbath  7nade  for  AIL 

As  we  shall  see,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
most  of  the  Gentile  Christians  never  observed 
the  seventh-day  Sabbath  at  all. 

Was  there  any  reason  for  such  a  change  ?  If 
the  apostles  were  guided  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
when  they  made  it,  we  need  not  ask  for  their 
reason.  But  since  the  reality  of  the  change  is 
disputed,  we  may  say  that  if  good  reasons  for 
it  can  be  discovered,  they  furnish  presumptive 
proof  that  it  really  took  place  under  divine  direc- 
tion. One  such  reason  can  undoubtedly  be  found 
in  the  abuses  which  had  gathered  around  the 
Jewish  Sabbath.  Christ  would  not  burden  his 
Church  with  such  a  Sabbath  as  the  rabbis  had 
made;  and  the  easiest  way  to  get  rid  of  these 
abuses  was  to  change  the  day.  Again,  the  Gen- 
tile churches  would  never  have  accepted  the  Sab- 
bath of  the  Jews  as  they  had  come  to  observe 
it.  Says  Neander,  "  They  rejected  the  Sabbath 
which  the  Jewish  Christians  celebrated,  in  order 
to  avoid  the  risk  of  mingling  Judaism  and  Chris- 
tianity, and  because  another  event  associated 
more  closely  another  day  with  their  Christian 
feelings."*  There  was  no  reason  w^hy  they 
should  not  have  a  day  of  their  own  on  which 
the  real  Sabbath  could  be  just  as  well  kept,  and 

*  "  Planting  and  Training  of  the  Christian  Church,"  p.  159. 
\76) 


The  Christian  Sahhath  Day.  191 

on  which  Christ,  their  risen  Lord,  could  be  es- 
pecially honored.     It  is    easy  to   see   that  this 
difficulty  might  have   come  to  be   one   of  great 
magnitude    and    long    continuance.       Moreover, 
Christians  were  not  to  observe  the  Sabbath  pre- 
cisely  as    the    Jews    had    kept   it  before    these 
abuses    arose  _  and    while    they    were    acting   in 
accordance  with  the  divine  law.     Certain  minor 
changes  were  to  be  made  in  i\i%  manner  of  ob- 
servance, and  these  could  be  most  easily  brought 
about  by  changing  the   day.     The   transference 
of   the    seventh-day    Sabbath    to    the    Christian 
Church  would  have  implied  the  transference  of 
all  its  features,  and  this  was  not  to  be.     Great 
pains  were  taken  to  make  it  clear  that  Christian- 
ity was  not  a  continuance  of  Judaism,  though  em- 
bodying whatever  was  moral  and  permanent  in 
the  latter.     The  principal  object  of  the  Sabbath 
from  the  beginning  was  the  promotion  of  man's 
religious  welfare.     Let  us  not  forget  that  "the 
Sabbath  was  made  for  man."     Now  a  change  in 
the  day,  which  would  preserve  all  the  good  feat- 
ures  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  carry  over  to  the 
new  day  the  associations  which  lent  sanctity  to 
the  old  so  far  as  Christians  were  concerned,  add 
a  new  feature  such  as  we  have  in  the  memorial  of 
our  Lord's  resurrection,  and  at  the  same  time  make 
it  easy  to  rid  the  Sabbath  of  its  abuses,  would 

(77) 


192  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

most  certainly  increase  the  value  of  it  as  a  means 
of  sanctification.  These  are  positive  reasons  why 
such  a  change  was  to  be  expected.  Further  on  in 
the  discussion  we  shall  see  that  there  was  nothing 
in  the  nature  of  the  institution  to  forbid  the  change. 

We  do  not  say  that  the  apostles  saw  these 
reasons  and  were  governed  by  them.  We  offer 
them  in  explanation  of  the  fact  that  they  were 
led  by  the  Spirit  to  make  the  change,  and  as 
suggesting  a  probability  that  it  would  be  made. 
The  motives  by  which  they  were  consciously 
governed  will  appear  as  we  study  the  history 
of  the  change.  They  were  led  to  observe  the 
first  day  of  the  week  as  the  Sabbath  and  grad- 
ually to  abandon  the  seventh  by  a  variety  of 
occurrences  which  seemed  to  them  to  warrant 
the  change,  and  which,  when  carefully  studied, 
leave  no  doubt  in  our  minds  that  they  acted  in 
accordance  with  the  divine  intention.  What 
were  those  occurrences  ? 

The  first  of  them  was  the  resurrection  of  our 
Lord.  Each  of  the  evangelists  mentions  very 
particularly  the  fact  that  this  took  place  upon 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  showing  that  they 
felt  it  important  to  mark  the  day.*  The  apos- 
tles could  not  but  look  upon  this  as  a  day  of  glo- 


*  Matthew  28  : 1 ;  Mark  16:2;  Luke  24  : 1  ;  John  20  : 1. 
(78) 


The  Christian  Sahhath  Day.  193 

rious  triumph  for  the  cause  to  which  they  had 
given  their  lives.  It  was  the  day  on  which  they 
were  delivered  from  temporary  sorrow  and  de- 
spair, and  on  which  the  strongest  hopes  they  had 
built  on  Christ  were  more  than  realized.  As 
they  came  to  understand  better  the  significance 
of  the  resurrection,  they  regarded  the  day  on 
which  it  occurred  as  the  day  of  deliverance  for 
the  world  from  the  bondage  of  sin.  They  saw 
in  it  a  deliverance  as  much  greater  than  that  of 
their  ancestors  from  Egyptian  bondage  as  the 
whole  race  is  greater  than  one  nation,  as  eternity 
is  greater  than  time.  Any  one  who  reads  the 
sermons  and  letters  of  the  apostles,  and  notices 
how  important  a  place  the  resurrection  has  in 
their  thoughts — notices  how  they  make  every- 
thing turn  upon  it,  declaring  that  our  faith  is 
vain  if  Christ  be  not  risen— ^-hardly  needs  to  ask 
whether  these  men  will  be  likely  to  commem- 
orate the  day  on  which  it  occurred. 

But  they  might  not  have  given  the  day  the 
prominence  they  did  if  Christ  had  not  distin- 
guished it,  by  choosing  it  for  most  of  his  appear- 
ances to  them  and  other  disciples.  On  the  same 
day  on  which  he  arose,  he  appeared  no  less  than 
five   times :   to   Mary  Magdalene,*  to   the   other 

*  John  20: 11-18. 
13  (79) 


194  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

women,*  to  Peter,f  to  the  two  disciples  on  the 
way  to  Emmaus,J  to  ten  of  the  apostles  gathered 
in  a  room  at  Jerusalem. §  No  wonder  that  they 
ever  after  regarded  this  day  as  peculiarly  mem- 
orable. In  their  thought  and  in  the  thought  of 
all  believers  in  Christ  it  had  been  honored  above 
every  other  day.  But  the  fact  that  Christ  rose 
on  that  day  and  manifested  himself  so  often  to 
the  disciples  would  not  necessarily  imply  a  pur- 
pose on  his  part  to  honor  it,  had  it  not  been  for 
subsequent  occurrences.  For  six  days  he  did 
not  appear  to  them  at  all,  so  far  as  the  record 
shows ;  but  "  on  the  eighth  day,  or,  as  we  should 
say,  on  the  seventh  day  afterwards,"  ||  he  ap- 
peared to  the  eleven  as  they  were  gathered  in  a 
closed  room.  This  meeting  is  itself  significant, 
"  for  already  the  resurrection  had  made  the  first 
day  of  the  week  sacred  to  the  hearts  of  the  apos- 
tles." ||  Still  more  significant  was  the  appear- 
ance of  Christ  on  that  day,  after  an  absence  of 
six  days.  We  can  hardly  avoid  the  conviction 
that  he  meant  to  mark  the  day  with  peculiar 
honor. 


*  Matthew  28:  9,  10. 
fLuke  24:84;  1  Cor.  15:5. 
J  Luke  24:13-31. 

§  Mark  16  :  14  :  Luke  24  :  36-49  ;  John  20  :  19-23. 
II  Farrar's  "  Life  of  Christ,"  one-volume  edition,  p.  459. 
(80) 


The  Christian  Sahhath  Day.  195 

The  next  great  event  which  occurred  on  this 
day  was  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Ghost  at 
Pentecost.  It  has  been  claimed  that  this  did 
not  take  place  on  Sunday,  but  on  Saturday ;  but 
a  careful  reckoning  of  the  time  from  the  crucifix- 
ion shows  this  to  be  a  mistake.  We  can  hardly 
afford  space  here  for  an  extended  discussion  of 
the  methods  of  counting  which  have  been  em- 
ployed to  secure  these  different  results,  but  may 
take  the  condensed  statement  of  Dr.  Philip 
Schaff,  with  which  scholars  now  generally  agree. 
He  says,  '^  Pentecost  fell  on  the  fiftieth  day  after 
the  day  following  the  Paschal  Sabbath,  and  was 
therefore  reckoned,  according  to  the  common  ac- 
ceptation, from  the  16th  of  Nisan,  when  the  corn- 
harvest  began.  ...  It  is  certain  and  on  all  hands 
admitted  that  Christ  died  on  a  Friday.  But  while 
this  Friday,  according  to  the  Synoptical  Gospels, 
seems  to  have  been  the  15th  of  Nisan,  an  unbi- 
ased interpretation  of  several  passages  in  the 
Gospel  of  John  would  make  it  the  14th.  If,  now, 
the  death  of  Jesus  fell  on  a  Friday  and  on  the 
14th  of  Nisan,  and  if  we  number  from  this  Sun- 
day, according  to  the  direction  of  Leviticus  23  : 
15,  fifty  days,  we  have  a  Sunday  again  for  the 
Pentecost.  .  .  .  This  view  is  supported,  also,  by 
the  primitive  and  universal  custom  of  the  Chris- 
tian   Church.      The    Church    always    celebrated 

(81) 


196  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

Pentecost  on  Sunday."*     To  this  we   may  add 
the  testimony  of  Dr.   Hessey,  who   says,   "On 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  which  in  that  year  occurred 
on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  '  they  were  with  one 
accord  in  one  place.' "  f     Thus  the  first  day  of  the 
week  was  made  "the  birthday  of  the  Church." 
The  meeting  of  the  disciples  indicates  that  they 
already  regarded  it  as  a  memorable  day.     This 
great  event  of  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit — 
the  greatest  event  that  has  occurred  since  the  res- 
urrection of  Christ — gave  it  additional  sacredness. 
The  promise  of  Christ  to  send  them  the  Comforter 
and  to  endue  the  apostles  with  power  was  now 
fulfilled.     "  The  ministration  of  the  Spirit,"  more 
glorious  than  any  that  preceded  it,  had  begun. 
The  gift  of  the  Spirit,  which  includes  all  other 
gifts   to  the   Church,  had  been  bestowed.     The 
provision  for  the   redemption  and   sanctification 
of  the  Church  was  now  complete,  and  nothing 
remained  but  for  them  to  go  forth,  in  obedience 
to  their  risen  Lord's  command,  and  "  preach  the 
gospel  to  every  creature,"  certain  that  it  would 
finally   win  universal  triumph.      It  was    hardly 
possible  that  the  day  marked  by  two  such  events 
as  the  resurrection  of  Christ  and  the  miraculous 


*  "  History  of  the  Apostolic  Church,"  p.  192,  and  note,  p.  193. 
t  "  Sunday,''  p.  30. 

(82) 


The  Christian  Sahhath  Day,  197 

gift  of  the  Spirit  should  not  be  celebrated  by 
those  who  felt  that  in  these  two  events  they  had 
received  blessings  which  exalted  them  above  the 
rank  of  earthly  kings,  and  assured  them  of  a  glo- 
rious destiny  in  the  eternal  future. 

An  examination  of  their  words  and  actions 
shows  most  conclusively  that  they  attached  great 
sacredness  to  this  day.  The  fact  that  all  of  the 
evangelists,  in  their  accounts  of  the  resurrection, 
use  the  expression  "i\\Q  first  day  of  the  week" 
is  significant.  The  earliest  of  these  Gospels- 
Matthew — was  written  several  years  after  the 
death  of  Christ,  and  that  of  John  not  till  at  least 
forty  years  after.  Previous  to  the  resurrection 
and  at  the  time,  it  was  spoken  of  always  as  oc- 
curring on  "the  third  day."  This  change  sug- 
gests that  the  first  day  of  the  week  had  come  to 
be  very  prominent  in  the  minds  of  the  evangel- 
ists when  the  Gospels  were  written.  The  same 
form  of  expression  occurs  in  other  places*  in  such 
a  way  as  to  indicate  that  it  had  become  common. 

The  Christians,  at  a  very  early  date,  were 
accustomed  to  hold  their  rehgious  meetings  on 
that  day.  The  custom  seems  to  have  been  begun 
a  week  from  the  day  of  the  resurrection,!  though 


*  Acts  20  :  7  ;  1  Corinthians  16:2. 
t  John  20  :  26. 

(83) 


198  The  Sahbath  made  for  All. 

a  single  instance  of  the  kind  would  not  make 
this  certam.  But  there  can  be  no  doubt  con- 
cerning their  habit  at  a  later  date.  We  read  in 
Acts,  "  Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  when 
the  disciples  came  together  to  break  bread,  Paul 
preached  unto  them."  *  The  plain  implication 
of  these  words  is  that  it  was  the  custom  of  Chris- 
tians to  meet  on  that  day  for  the  Lord's  Supper. 
It  is  not  likely  that  this  ordinance  stood  alone 
and  was  observed  without  other  religious  serv- 
ices. The  Christians  at  Jerusalem  were  poor 
and  persecuted,  and  the  churches  that  were  bet- 
ter situated  were  moved  to  take  collections  for 
their  relief.  In  writing  to  the  church  at  Corinth 
on  the  matter,  Paul  says,  "  Upon  the  first  day 
of  the  week  let  every  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in 
store,  as  God  hath  prospered  him,  that  there  be 
no  gatherings  when  I  come."f  From  what  can 
be  learned  of  the  method  of  taking  collections 
among  the  early  Christians  it  is  evident  that 
Paul  desires  them  to  bring  in  their  offerings 
week  by  week  and  leave  them  in  the  hands  of 
the  proper  church  officers.  Here,  then,  we  find 
a  regular  weekly  meeting  on  "  the  first  day."  It 
is  extremely  improbable  that  there  was  such  a 
meeting  at  Corinth  and  not  in  the  other  churches. 

*  Acts  20  :  7.  1 1  Corinthians  16:2. 

(84) 


The  Christian  Sahhath  Day.  199 

They  all  had  regular  meetings,  which  were  sep- 
arate from  the  Jewish  assemblies.  Christians 
were  urged  to  attend  them.  The  writer  of  Hebrews 
reminds  them  of  this  duty —  "  not  forsaking  the 
assembling  of  yourselves  together,  as  the  manner 
of  some  is."  *  It  is  natural  to  suppose  that  they 
occurred  upon  some  fixed  day,  and  we  have  seen 
indications  that  this  was  the  first  day  of  the  week. 
John  speaks  of  this  as  "the  Lord's  day."  He 
says,  "  I  was  in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day."  f 
If  he  had  meant  the  Sabbath,  he  w^ould  have 
called  it  by  that  name.  His  expression  is  anal- 
ogous to  "  the  sabbath  of  the  Lord,"  which  we 
find  in  the  Old  Testament ;  but  it  cannot  mean 
the  same  day.  He  cannot  be  speaking  of  the 
judgment  day,  for  the  remainder  of  his  expres- 
sion does  not  consist  with  that  idea.  He  is  re- 
ferring to  some  well-known  day;  and  we  have 
already  discovered  strong  reasons  for  believing 
that  it  could  be  no  other  than  the  first  day  of 
the  week.  His  calling  it  "the  Lord's  day" 
shows  that  it  had  been  made  sacred  in  honor  of 
Christ.  His  saying  that  he  was  "in  the  Spirit" 
on  that  day  indicates  that  he  was  using  it  for 
religious  meditation. 

Gathering  up  the  results  of  our  examination, 

*  Hebrews  10  :  25,  f  Revelation  1 :  10. 

(85) 


200  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

we  find  that  peculiar  honor  was  bestowed  upon 
the  first  day  of  the  week  by  the  resurrection  of 
our  Lord,  by  his  appearance  to  the  disciples,  and 
by  the  pentecostal  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit ; 
that  the  evangelists  and  apostles  speak  of  it  as 
though  it  had  been  elevated  to  a  position  of 
sacred  importance  in  their  minds ;  and  that  the 
early  Christians  were  accustomed  to  meet  on  it 
for  the  Lord's  Supper  and  for  religious  worship. 
How  far  the  Jewish  converts  to  Christ  abandoned 
the  observance  of  the  seventh-day  Sabbath  is  not 
clear.  It  is  probable,  from  certain  hints  concern- 
ing their  attendance  at  the  temple  and  the  syn- 
agogues, that  they  quite  generally  observed  it 
during  the  time  of  the  apostles.  But  it  must 
have  been  understood  that  the  day  was  no  longer 
binding.  It  is  not  possible  to  interpret  in  any 
other  way  Paul's  words,  which  we  have  already 
quoted,  but  which  may  be  repeated  in  this  con- 
nection :  "  One  man  esteemeth  one  day  above 
another;  another  esteemeth  every  day  alike. 
Let  every  man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own 
mind.  He  that  regardeth  the  day  regardeth  it 
unto  the  Lord;  and  he  that  regardeth  not  the 
day,  to  the  Lord  he  doth  not  regard  it'' *  " Let 
no  man  judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect 


*  Romans  14  :  5,  6. 
(86) 


The  Christian  Sahhath  Day.  201 

of  an  holydayj  or  of  the  new  moon,  or  of  the  sab- 
bath days  :  which  are  a  shadow  of  things  to  come ; 
but  the  body  is  of  Christ."*  These  words  are 
directed  against  that  which  was  distinctly  Jewish 
in  the  laws  and  ordinances  of  the  old  dispensation. 
They  admit  of  no  other  interpretation  than  that 
men  were  at  liberty  to  observe  or  not  to  observe 
the  seventh  day  as  the  Sabbath.  It  was  not  to 
be  imposed  upon  the  Gentile  converts.  But  there 
is  not  a  word  to  indicate  that  the  Sabbath  as  an 
instituiion  was  abrogated.  If  the  particular  day 
was  a  matter  of  indifference,  and  the  Sabbath  was 
still  to  be  kept,  when  should  it  be  observed  ?  Man- 
ifestly, there  could  have  been  no  intention  on  the 
part  of  the  apostles  to  have  some  Christians  keep 
one  day  and  some  another.  Neither  would  they 
be  likely  to  order  that  all  should  keep  two  days. 
For  reasons  which  seemed  to  them  good,  they 
had  fixed  upon  "the  first  day  of  the  week"  for 
the  Sabbath  day.  If  they  had  celebrated  the 
resurrection  of  Christ  once  a  month  or  once  a 
year,  there  would  have  been  no  indication  of  a 
change  in  the  Sabbath  day;  but  a  weekly  cel- 
ebration reveals  a  purpose  to  substitute  the  first 
day  for  the  seventh.  The  correspondence  of 
periods  reduces  the  matter  to  a  certainty.     Put 


*Colossians  2:16,  17. 


(87) 


202  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

the  two  facts  that  they  asserted  the  particular 
day  to  be  of  no  consequence  and  that  they  hal- 
lowed the  first  day  of  the  week  over  against  each 
other,  and  any  other  conclusion  is  impossible. 
That  this  was  understood  by  Christians  of  their 
own  and  later  times  to  be  their  purpose  will  ap- 
pear from  an  examination  of  the  history  of  the 
early  churches,  which  we  will  attempt  in  the 
next  chapter. 


(88) 


CHAPTER  X, 

THE    CHRISTIAN    SABBATH   DAY CONTINUED. 

Christ  was  crucified  and  buried  on  the  sixth  day.  He  lay  all 
the  seventh  day  in  the  grave.  The  seventh-day  Sabbath  was 
buried  with  him,  and  remains  buried;  for  he  arose  from  the 
dead  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  when  the  seventh-day  Sabbath 
was  past. — Dr.  N.  West. 

We  are  under  no  obligation  to  follow  the  ex- 
ample of  Christians  who  lived  in  any  age  subse- 
quent to  that  of  the  apostles.  Perversions  of 
Christian  doctrine  and  corrupt  practices  sprang 
up  so  early  and  prevailed  so  widely  as  to  make 
such  an  imitation  altogether  unsafe.  Why,  then, 
should  it  concern  us  to  know  anything  about  the 
Christians  of  the  first  and  second  centuries?  We 
study  their  history  because  it  throws  additional 
light  upon  the  teaching  and  example  of  the  apos- 
tles. If  it  can  be  shown  clearly  that  any  custom 
prevailed  very  soon  after  their  death,  we  have 
good  reason  to  believe  that  it  rested  upon  a  basis 
of  apostolic  authority.  Especially  would  this  be 
the  case  if  the  custom  was  universal,  or  nearly 
so,  among  the  churches  ;  for  the  origin  of  unscrip- 
tural  practices  can  usually  be  traced  to  some 
particular  locality.    A   brief  and    cursory   exam- 

(89) 


204  The  Sahhath  made  for  All. 

ination  of  the  history  of  the  early  Christians  will 
reveal  the  following  three  important  facts  :  First, 
that  Sunday  was  observed  as  a  holy  day — a 
Christian  festival — during  the  first  and  second 
centuries.  Second,  that  the  Jewish  converts  to 
Christ  were  in  the  habit  of  observing  both  Satur- 
day and  Sunday  as  holy  days — the  one  because 
they  thought  it  commanded  in  the  law  of  Moses, 
the  other  because  it  was  the  custom  of  all  Chris- 
tians to  observe  it  in  commemoration  of  Christ's 
resurrection.  "  Those  churches  which  were  com- 
posed of  Jewish  Christians,  though  they  admitted 
with  the  rest  the  festival  of  Sunday,  yet  retained 
also  that  of  the  Sabbath."*  But  it  was  soon  felt 
that  such  an  arrangement  involved  more  days  of 
rest  than  could  be  afforded  in  this  world  of  work. 
It  was  not  consistent  with  the  proper  performance 
of  life's  duties.  To  observe  two  Sabbaths  was 
going  beyond  any  law,  human  or  divine.  Third, 
that  thus  it  gradually  came  to  pass  that  the 
seventh-day  observance  was  abandoned  by  nearly 
all  Christians,  and  the  substitution  of  Sunday  in  its 
place  became  complete.  To  find  confirmation  of 
these  statements  let  iis  look  at  some  of  the  writ- 
ings of  the  fathers.  For  the  convenience  of  the 
general  reader,  we  quote  mainly  from  tmnslations 


*  Neander  :  Churqh  History,  vol.  i.  p.  296. 
(90) 


The  Christian  Sahhath  Day.  205 

of  these  writings  which  may  be  found  in  the 
"  Ante-Nicene  Library "  and  in  "  The  Apostolic 
Fathers."  Both  of  these  may  be  regarded  as  en- 
tirely trustworthy  reproductions  of  the  originals. 
Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  doctrinal  value 
of  these  works,  it  is  quite  certain  that  their 
authors  would  not  make  false  statements  about 
matters  of  common  knowledge  in  their  own  time, 
for  such  statements  would  have  exposed  them  to 
the  contempt  and  ridicule  of  their  contemporaries. 
Ignatius  was  a  disciple  of  John,  and  died  at  an 
advanced  age  in  the  year  115.  In  his  "  Epistle 
to  the  Magnesians  "  he  says,  "  If,  therefore,  those 
that  were  brought  up  in  the  ancient  order  of 
things  have  come  to  the  possession  of  a  new  hope, 
no  longer  observing  the  Sabbath,  but  living  in  the 
observance  of  the  Lord's  day,  on  which  also  our 
life  has  sprung  up  again  by  him  and  by  his  death 
.  .  .  how  can  we  live  without  him  ?"  *  The 
genuineness  of  this  is  now  generally  admitted. 
The  text  is  somewhat  obscure,  but  it  indicates 
plainly  enough  that  already  the  Jewish  Christians 
were  giving  up  the  observance  of  the  seventh  day 
and  that  the  Lord's  day  was  generally  regarded 
as  sacred.  The  "  Epistle  of  Barnabas "  was 
probably  not  written  by  the  companion  of  Paul 

*To  the  Magnesians,  sec.  9,  Ant.  Nic.  Lib.,  vol.  i.  p.  180. 

(91) 


206  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

who  bore  that  name,  but  it  was  certainly  in  exist- 
ence soon  after  the  close  of  the  first  century. 
In  this  the  writer  [says,  "  We  [Christians]  keep 
the  eighth  day  with  joyfulness,  the  day  also  on 
which  Jesus  rose  from  the  dead."  *  The  first 
day  of  the  week  was  then  often  called  the  eighth 
because  it  came  next  after  the  seventh.  If  any 
doubt  should  exist  as  to  which  day  is  meant  here, 
the  allusion  to  the  resurrection  is  conclusive.  A 
letter  written  to  the  emperor  Trajan  by  Pliny 
the  younger,  about  a.d.  112,  who  was  then  gov- 
ernor of  Pontus  and  Bithynia,  has  often  been 
quoted  in  proof  that  it  was  the  custom  of  the 
early  Christians  to  meet  on  stated  days  for  wor- 
ship and  the  Lord's  Supper.  He  was  ordered  to 
crush  out  the  new  religion,  and  says  that,  when 
brought  before  him  for  examination,  "  they 
affirmed  that  the  whole  of  their  fault  or  error  lay 
in  this,  that  they  were  wont  to  meet  together  on 
a  stated  day^  before  it  was  light,  and  sing  among 
themselves  by  turns  a  hymn  to  Christ  as  God, 
and  to  bind  themselves  by  an  oath,  not  to  the 
commission  of  any  w^ickedness,  but  not  to  be 
guilty  of  theft  or  robbery  or  adultery,  never  to 
break  a  promise,  or  to  deny  a  pledge  committed 
to  them  when  called  upon  to  return  it.     When 


*  Epistle,  sec.  15,  Ant.  Nic.  Lib.,  vol.  i.  p.  128. 
(92) 


The  Christian  Sabbath  Day.  207 

these  things  were  performed,  it  was  their  custom  to 
separate,  and  then  come  together  again  to  a  meal, 
which  they  ate  in  common  without  any  disorder."* 
This  testimony  is  especially  valuable,  as  it  comes 
from  a  heathen  witness.     The  antiquity  of   the 
recently-discovered    manuscript   known    as    the 
"  Teaching  of  the  Apostles  "  is  disputed,  but  it 
unquestionably  belongs    to  a  very  early  period. 
So  many  eminent  scholars  have  agreed  in  placing 
it  in  ih^   first  half  of  the  second    century  that 
we    may    quote   it  in  this    connection.     In   the 
fourteenth   chapter  we  read,  "  But  every  Lord's 
day  do  ye  gather  yourselves  together  and  break 
bread,  and  give   thanksgiving,  after  having  con- 
fessed your  transgressions,  that  your  sacrifice  may 
be  pure."     This  is  part  of  the  instruction  given 
to  early  Christians  with  regard  to  their  religious 
services.     It  was  for  Jewish  converts  as  well  as 
for  others.     The  mention  of  the  Lord's  day,  and 
the  entire  absence  of  any  reference  to  the  seventh- 
day  Sabbath,  are  significant  and  almost  conclusive 
on   the  point  we  are   now   considering.     Justin 
Martyr,  who  wrote  about  138  a.d.,  says,  "On  the 
day  called   Sunday  all  [Christians]  who  live  in 
cities  or  in  the  country  gather  together  in  one  place, 
and  the  memoirs  of  the  apostles  or  the  writings  of 


Epistles,  X.  97. 

(93) 


208  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

the  prophets  are  read  as  long  as  the  time  permits ; 
then,  when  the  reader  has  ceased,  the  president 
verbally  instructs  and  exhorts  them  to  the  imita- 
tion of  these  good  things."  Then  follows  a  full  de- 
scription of  their  worship,  including  the  collection 
for  the  needy.  He  continues,  "  Sunday  is  the 
day  on  which  we  all  hold  our  common  assembly, 
because  it  is  the  first  day  on  which  God,  having 
wrought  a  change  in  the  darkness  and  matter, 
made  the  world,  and  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour  on 
the  same  day  rose  from  the  dead."*  In  another 
workf  he  says,  "  The  command  to  circumcise  in- 
fants on  the  eighth  day  was  a  type  of  the  true 
circumcision  by  which  we  are  circumcised  from 
error  and  wickedness  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  arose  from  the  dead  on  the  first  day 
of  the  week ;  therefore,  it  remains  the  first  and 
chief  of  all  days."  While  the  reference  to  cir- 
cumcision is  fanciful,  the  passage  gives  in  the 
reference  to  the  resurrection  the  reason  which 
was  then  generally  accepted  for  observing  the 
Lord's  day.  Irenseus,  bishop  of  Lyons  a.d.  178, 
is  quoted  by  an  early  subsequent  writer  as  say- 
ing, "  This  custom  of  not  bending  the  knee  on 
Sunday  is  a  symbol  of  the  resurrection,  through 

*  Apology  I.,  67  ;  Ant.  Nic.  Lib.   ii.  pp.  65,  66  ;  "  Apostolic 
Fathers,"  p.  179. 

t  "  Dialogue  with  Trypho,"  sec.  41. 
(94) 


The  Christian  Sahhath  Day.  209 

which  we  have  been  set  free,  by  the  grace  of 
Christ,  from  sins  and  from  death,  which  has  been 
put  to  death  under  him.  Now  this  custom  took 
its  rise  from  apostolic  times,  as  the  blessed 
Irenseus,  the  martyr  and  bishop  of  Lyons,  de- 
clares in  his  treatise  '  On  Easter,'  in  which  he 
makes  mention  of  Pentecost  also ;  upon  which  we 
do  not  bend  the  knee,  because  it  is  of  equal  sig- 
nificance with  the  Lord's  day,  for  the  reason 
already  alleged  concerning  it."  *  To  understand 
this  last  reference  it  must  be  remembered  that, 
among  the  early  Christians,  the  Lord's  day  was  a 
day  of  rejoicing,  on  which  it  was  improper  to 
kneel.  It  will  be  noticed  that  Irenseus  seems  to 
exalt  Pentecost  by  making  it  equal  to  the  Lord's 
day,  showing  that  the  latter  was  held  in  high 
estimation.  Eusebius,  the  great  church  historian 
(262-340),  quotes  Irenaeus  as  saying  ^-that  the 
mystery  of  our  Lord's  resurrection  should  be  cele- 
brated on  no  other  day  than  the  Lord's  day ;  and 
that  on  this  day  alone  we  should  observe  the  close 
of  the  paschal  fast."  f  This  remark  originated 
in  a  discussion  on  the  question  whether  Easter 
should  be  celebrated  in  connection  with  the  Jew- 
ish passover,  on  whatever  day  that  might  happen 


*Ant.  Nic.  Lib.,  vol.  ix.  pp.  162,  163. 
fEccl.  Hist.,  vol.  ii.  p.  256. 
14  (95) 


210  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

to  fall,  or  on  the  Lord's  day ;  but  it  shows  the 
regard  in  which  the  latter  was  held  and  the  reason 
for  observing  it.  Tertullian,  the  great  bishop  of 
Carthage,  who  lived  and  wrote  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  second  century  and  first  part  of  the  third, 
has  a  number  of  passages  on  the  Lord's  day. 
He  says, '''  We  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  Sabbath 
or  the  other  Jewish  festivals,  much  less  with 
those  of  the  heathen.  We  have  our  own  solemni- 
ties, the  Lord's  day  for  instance  and  Pentecost. 
As  the  heathen  confine  themselves  to  their  festi- 
vals and  do  not  observe  ours,  let  us  confine  our- 
selves to  ours  and  not  meddle  with  those  belong- 
ing to  them."  *  In  another  work  he  says,  "  If  we 
give  Sunday  to  joy,  it  is  from  a  very  difi'erent 
reason  than  the  worship  of  the  sun ;  we  are  also 
separate  from  those  who  spend  Saturday  in  idle- 
ness and  feasting,  departing  from  the  custom  of 
the  Jews  of  which  they  are  ignorant."  f  Regard- 
ing the  method  of  observing  Sunday  he  says, 
"  We  consider  it  wrong  to  flist  on  the  Lord's  day, 
or  to  pray  kneeling  during  its  continuance."  J  In 
his  treatise  "  On  Prayer  "  §  he  makes  these  further 
remarks  on  the  proper  observance  of  the  day : 
"  But  we  (just  as  we  have  received),  only  on  the 


*  On  Idolatry,  chap.  14.         %  On  the  Soldier's  Crown,  chap.  3. 
t  Apologetics,  chap.  16.        ^  Chapter  21. 
(96) 


The  Christian  Sahhath  Day,  211 

day  of  the  Lord's  resurrection  ought  to  guard  not 
only  against  kneeling,  but  every  posture  and 
office  of  anxiety ;  deferring  even  our  business, 
lest  we  give  place  to  the  devil."  Here  we  find  a 
plain  intimation  that  no  secular  work  should  be 
done  on  the  Lord's  day.  It  was  probably  on  this 
account  that  Neander  says  of  Tertullian,  "  we  find 
in  him  indications  of  the  transfer  of  the  law  of 
the  Jewish  Sabbath  to  Sunday."*  The  testimony 
of  Tertullian  is  important,  for  in  his  voluminous 
writings  references  f  to  the  Lord's  day  and  to  its 
proper  observance  are  so  frequent  that  there  can 
be  no  doubt  about  the  manner  in  which  it  was 
regarded  by  the  Christians  of  his  times. 

Those  to  which  we  have  called  attention  are  by 
no  means  the  only  references  to  the  Lord's  day 
which  can  be  found  in  the  Christian  writings  of  the 
first  two  centuries ;  but  they  are  sufficient  to  show 
that  it  was  then  a  day  of  worship  and  of  religious 
festivity.  We  limit  our  inquiry  to  this  period. 
If  we  were  writing  a  history  of  the  Lord's  day, 
it  would  be  necessary  to  make  citations  from  the 
writings  of  later  periods;  but  our  sole  purpose 
has  been  to  show  how  the  early  Christians — those 


*  Church  Hist,  vol.  i.  p.  259. 

fFor  some  of  Tertullian's  references  to  the  Lord's  day, 
English  readers  may  consult  Ant.  Nic.  Lib.,  vol.  xi.  pp.  85,  162, 
163,  199,  449,  450,  and  vol.  xv.  p.  428. 

(97) 


212  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

nearest  the  apostles — regarded  the  day.  The 
witnesses  we  have  so  far  examined  are  uniform 
in  testifying  that  they  kept  the  first  day  of  the 
week  as  a  holy  day.  It  is  a  significant  fact 
that  there  is  no  record  of  any  differences  or  dis- 
putes on  this  subject  among  the  early  Christians. 
But  how,  meantime,  did  they  regard  the  Jew- 
ish Sabbath  day  ?  The  evidence  all  goes  to 
show  that  the  Gentile  Christians  felt  themselves 
under  no  obligation  to  observe  it,  and  that  the 
Jewish  converts  gradually  abandoned  its  observ- 
ance. The  "  Epistle  of  Barnabas "  says  that 
the  Lord  abolished  Jewish  sacrifices,  new  moons 
and  Sabbaths,  and  represents  Christ  as  saying, 
"Your  present  Sabbaths  are  not  acceptable  to 
me."  *  Ignatius,  perhaps  the  earliest  post-apos- 
tolic writer,  speaks  of  Christians  as  no  longer 
observing  the  seventh-day  Sabbath. f  Justin 
Martyr  said,  ''  We  too  would  observe  the  fleshly 
circumcision,  and  the  Sabbaths,  and  in  short  all 
the  feasts,  if  we  did  not  know  for  what  reason 
they  are  enjoined  upon  you.  How  is  it,  Trypho, 
that  we  would  not  observe  those  rites  w^hich 
would  not  harm  us  ?  I  speak  of  fleshly  circum- 
cision, and  Sabbaths  and  feasts."  J     This  plainly 

*  Ant.  Nic.  Lib.,  vol.  i.  pp.  103,  128. 
\Ihid.,  p.  150. 
Xlbid.^  vol.  ii.  p.  139. 
(98) 


The  Christian  Sahhath  Day,  213 

enough  implies  that  the  seventh-day  Sabbath  was 
no  longer  considered  obligatory.  The  remark  we 
haA^e  already  quoted  from  Tertullian,  "we  have 
nothing  to  do  with  Sabbaths  or  other  Jewish  festi- 
vals," indicates  that  in  his  time  it  was  disregarded 
by  Gentile  Christians  at  least.  But  he  is  more 
explicit  and  emphatic.  In  his  treatise  "  On 
Idolatry,"  *  he  says,  "  The  Holy  Spirit  upbraids 
the  Jews  with  their  holy  days.  '  Your  sabbaths, 
and  new  moons,  and  ceremonies,'  says  he,  '  my  soul 
hateth.'  "  Again,  "  He  who  argues  for  Sabbath- 
keeping  and  circumcision  must  show  that  Adam 
and  Abel,  and  the  just  of  the  old  time,  observed 
these  things."  f  Perhaps  his  most  explicit  state- 
ment is  this,  "  The  observance  of  the  Sabbath  is 
being  demonstrated  to  have  been  temporary."  J 
He  is  not  speaking  of  the  Lord's  day,  for  that  had 
its  own  distinct  name  and  was  not  then  called  the 
Sabbath  as  sometimes  with  us,  but  only  of  the 
seventh-day  or  Jewish  Sabbath.  It  was  this  the 
observance  of  which  was  being  demonstrated  to 
be  temporary.  How  long  Jewish  Christians  con- 
tinued to  observe  it  cannot  be  accurately  deter- 
mined, but  they  soon  came  to  be  so  small  a  mi- 
nority of  the  whole  Church  that,  probably,  such 

*  Chapter  14. 

t  Against  the  Jews,  chap.  2. 

X  Ant.  Nic.  Lib.,  vol.  xviii.  p.  211. 

(99) 


214  The  Sahhath  made  for  AIL 

observance  was  not  common  long  after  the  end  of 
the  period  we  have  been  considering. 

We  might  quote  further  testimony,  but  surely 
it  is  not  necessiry.  It  all  bears  in  one  direction 
and  forces  us  to  one  conclusion.  It  is  character- 
ized by  a  remarkable  uniformity.  Every  state- 
ment bearing  upon  the  subject,  that  can  be  dis- 
covered in  the  writings  of  the  fathers,  is  to  the 
effect  that  the  Christians  of  the  first  two  centu- 
ries were  accustomed  to  keep  holy  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  and  that  most  of  them  regarded  them- 
selves at  liberty  not  to  keep  the  seventh-day  Sab- 
bath. Thus  they  strengthen  the  conclusion  we 
have  reached  from  our  examination  of  the  exam- 
ple and  teachings  of  the  apostles,  that  the  latter 
intended  to  transfer  the  Sabbath  from  the  seventh 
to  the  first  day.  The  Christians  of  their  own 
time  and  of  the  age  immediately  following  cer- 
tainly understood  that  to  be  their  purpose. 
Those  who  were  in  such  immediate  connection 
with  them  could  hardly  have  made  a  mistake  con- 
cerning the  import  of  their  words  and  actions. 
We  may,  then,  consider  it  as  settled  that  we  have 
apostolic  authority  for  disregarding  the  claims  of 
the  seventh  day  and  keeping  the  Sabbath  upon 
the  first  day  of  the  week. 

But  does  not  such  a  change  involve  the  de- 
struction of  the   Sabbath  ?     It  does  not  affect  it 

(100) 


The  Christian  Sahhath  Day.  215 

in  the  least.  Here  we  must  carefully  distinguish 
between  the  institution  and  the  day.  The  Sab- 
bath is  one  thing,  and  the  day  on  which  it  shall 
be  observed  is  quite  another  thing.  A  careful 
consideration  of  the  facts  in  the  case  will  make 
this  evident,  and  also  show  that  the  day  may  be 
changed  without  affecting  the  institution. 

So  far  as  the  element  of  time  is  considered  in 
the  fourth  commandment,  the  proportion  of  days 
is  all  that  is  essential.  There  is  nothing  in 
Scripture  or  in  common  sense  to  contradict  this 
view.  It  is  the  fixing  upon  one  day  as  more 
holy  than  another  that  Paul,  when  writing  on 
the  subject,  expressly  condemns.  In  the  nature 
of  the  case,  there  is  nothing  that  forbids  putting 
the  Sabbath  upon  any  day  in  the  week,  if  good 
reasons  could  be  given  for  selecting  it.  The 
fourth  commandment  itself  does  not  fix  the  day 
of  the  week  on  which  the  Sabbath  shall  be  ob- 
served. It  simply  says,  "  Remember  the  sab- 
bath day,  to  keep  it  holy.  Six  days  shalt  thou 
labor,  and  do  all  thy  work ;  but  the  seventh  day 
is  the  sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God."  There  is 
no  allusion  to  the  week  here,  or  to  any  particular 
day  from  which  the  counting  shall  begin.  It  is 
simply  required  that  every  seventh  day  shall  be 
kept  as  a  day  of  rest  and  a  holy  day.  The  most 
precise  literalist  could  hardly  find  more  in  these 

(101) 


216  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

words.  Certainly  the  command  as  it  here  appears 
is  obeyed  by  one  who  works  six  days  and  then 
uses  the  seventh  for  rest  and  religious  purposes. 
If  it  is  to  be  interpreted  in  any  other  way, 
obedience  to  it  is  practically  impossible.  Exact 
identity  of  time  for  all  men  cannot  be  secured. 
Travel  around  the  world  from  east  to  west,  keep- 
ing every  seventh  day,  and  you  will  find,  at  the 
end  of  your  journey,  that  your  Sabbath  has  some- 
how got  changed  from  vSunday  to  Saturday.  Go 
around  in  the  opposite  direction  and  it  will  trans- 
fer itself  to  Monday.  Go  into  the  Arctic  regions 
and  you  must  take  simply  a  seventh  of  the  time, 
or  keep  as  a  Sabbath  every  seventh  year.  These 
facts  show  that  it  is  contrary  to  nature  to  insist 
upon  the  seventh  day  of  the  week  as  the  only 
possible  Sabbath  day. 

But  this  is  not  all.  There  is  good  reason  to 
believe  that  the  primitive  Sabbath  was  kept  on 
the  first  day  of  the  week.  It  should  be  noted 
that  God's  rest-day  was  man's  first  day  of  exist- 
ence. It  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  day  which 
was  especially  honored  among  those  ancient  peo- 
yjles  who  had  the  septenary  division  of  time  was 
the  first  day  of  the  week.  The  very  name  of 
the '  day.  Sun-day,  the  day  consecrated  to  the 
principal  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  is  a  memento  of 
this  custom.     The  equivalent  of  this  exists  in  the 

(102) 


The  Christian  Sabbath  Day.  217 

languages  of  all  these  peoples,  and  it  was  applied 
by  all  to  the  same  day  of  the  week.  Nor  was  it 
improbable  that  the  Sabbath  of  the  Jews  would 
be  appointed  on  a  day  different  from  the  principal 
holy  day  of  other  nations.  There  was  good  rea- 
son for  such  a  change.  They  were  a  peculiar  peo- 
ple and  were  to  be  separate  from  the  heathen. 
Their  Sabbath  was  to  commemorate  their  de- 
liverance from  Egypt  as  well  as  the  creation  of 
the  world.  Some  have  supposed  that  it  came  on 
the  seventh  day  from  the  first  fall  of  manna. 
However  this  may  have  been,  it  is  not  hard  to 
believe  that  God  appointed  it  on  a  new  day.  The 
evidence  on  this  point  is  not  perfectly  conclusive, 
but  it  is  strong  enough  *  to  raise  a  doubt  whether 
those  who  insist  on  the  seventh-day  Sabbath  are 
not  worse  Judaizers  than  has  generally  been  sup- 
posed. There  is  certainly  presumptive  evidence 
that  the  Jews,  in  their  isolation,  would  have  a 
Sabbath  day  of  their  own,  and  that  Christ,  who  is 
to  be  the  Saviour  and  King  of  all  men,  would  re- 
store the  original  Sabbath  day.  But  whether 
there  has  been  one  change  or  two,  the  institution 
has  not  been  thereby  affected. 

Every  purpose  for  which  the  Sabbath  was  in- 

*It  is  well  presented  in  "  The  Primitive  Sabbath  Kestored," 
a  pamphlet  by  Rev.  James  Johnson. 

(103) 


218  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

stituted  can  be  accomplished  as  well  upon  one 
day  as  another.  The  proportion  of  time — six 
days  of  labor  followed  by  the  day  of  rest — 
secures  the  commemoration  of  God's  creative 
week.  It  makes  no  conceivable  difference  when 
we  begin  to  count ;  this  observance  stands  as  an 
imperishable  monument  of  creation,  reminding 
men  that  the  universe  is  God's  handiwork.  This 
purpose  of  the  Sabbath  is  not  violated  or 
impaired  in  the  least  by  changing  it  from  the 
seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the  week.  But  the 
change  makes  it  commemorative  of  another  and 
a  greater  event  than  the  creation.  This  was  re- 
demption day — the  day  on  which  a  fallen  race 
received  assurance  that  a  way  of  salvation  had 
been  provided.  Previous  to  that  sin  had  reigned 
rampant  in  the  world,  and  had  made  creation  lit- 
tle more  than  a  source  of  misery.  That  day 
changed  the  tears  of  the  world  to  laughter.  It 
changed  the  world  from  a  hearse  to  a  triumphal 
chariot.  It^took  the  blackness  of  despair  out  of 
human  hearts  and  filled  them  with  the  light  of  a 
great  hope.  It  assured  us  that  God  had  not  ut- 
terly cast  off  the  race  and  left  us  to  perish.  Now 
we  may  look  for  "  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth." 
Now  we  may  hope  that  the  renl  purpose  of  creation 
— the  fitting  of  intelligent  beings  for  eternal  service 
of  God  and  eternal  glory  and  blessedness — may 

(104) 


The  Christian  Sabhath  Day.  219 

be  accomplished.  How  much  greater  is  redemp- 
tion than  creation  !  God  made  the  worhl  by  the 
breath  of  his  power;  but  when  he  would  save 
sinful  man  he  must  give  his  only  begotten  Son  to 
die  on  the  cross.  He  dies  and  is  laid  in  the  tomb, 
and  the  hope  of  the  world  seems  to  die  with  him. 
But  no !  He  lives  again,  and  men  take  up  the 
song  of  hope  and  joy.  His  resurrection  is  so 
fraught  with  solemn  and  ecstatic  meaning  for  us 
all  that  the  day  on  which  he  rose  must  remain  ever 
memorable.  It  is  impossible  for  us  to  make  too 
much  of  this  event.  It  Avas  because  the  apostles 
saw,  as  we  do  not,  the  transcendent  importance 
of  the  resurrection  that  they  gave  Sunday  prece- 
dence over  the  Jewish  Sabbath  day.  But  while 
it  commemorates  this  greatest  of  all  events  in 
the  world's  history,  it  in  no  less  degree  commem- 
orates the  creation  of  the  world,  since  it  comes 
in  regular  round  after  six  days  of  labor. 

The  Sabbath  may  be  of  exactly  the  same  serv- 
ice to  man  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week  as 
upon  the  seventh.  So  long  as  its  real  purpose  is 
served,  what  conceivable  difference  does  it  make 
on  Avhat  day  it  is  observed  ?  God  is  not  an  arbi- 
trary and  tyrannical  taskmaster  whose  precepts 
originate  in  mere  freaks  of  fancy.  The  Sabbath 
he  requires  us  to  observe  is  one  which  will 
promote    our    welfare,    and    such    a    Sabbath    is 

(105) 


220  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

entirely  independent  of  any  particular  day  of  the 
week. 

The  correctness  of  this  opinion  receives  con- 
firmation from  an  unexpected  source.  A  Hebrew- 
rabbi  delivered  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia*  a 
course  of  Sunday  lectures  for  the  instruction 
and  edification  of  those  of  his  people  who  could 
not,  on  account  of  their  occupation,  attend 
the  synagogue  on  Saturday.  The  movement 
created  some  excitement  among  the  Hebrews 
of  Philadelphia,  and  gave  rise  to  various  rumors. 
A  reporter  of  the  Record,  a  daily  newspaper  of 
that  city,  called  upon  the  rabbi,  who  made  the 
following  remarks  in  the  course  of  the  interview  : 
"As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  there  is  no  rea- 
son why  the  Jews  should  not  observe  a  Sunday 
as  a  holy  day  of  rest,  and  observe  it  as  such  in- 
stead of  Saturday.  Any  day  of  the  week  might 
be  selected  as  holy  day,  or  Sabbath,  without 
doing  violence  to  the  conscience.  The  command 
was,  '  six  days  shalt  thou  labor.'  One  day  of  the 
week  was  to  be  a  day  of  rest,  and  without  affect- 
ing the  Jewish  religion,  any  other  day  than  Sat- 
urday would  do  as  well.  The  acceptance  of 
Sunday,  therefore,  if  that  is  what  we  propose, 
would  not  be  fatal  to  our  religion.     But  we  only 


*  Winter  of  1883-84. 
(106) 


The  Christian  Sabbath  Day.  221 

have  in  view  a  system  of  lectures  by  which  the 
Jews  who  cannot  observe  the  Sabbath  can  be  in- 
structed on  Sundays.  I  think  that  this  is  right. 
A  Jew  in  a  Christian  country  like  this  is  in  a 
dilemma.  If  he  does  not  work  six  days,  he  com- 
mits a  sin;  for  the  command  is,  ^six  days  shalt 
thou  labor.'  The  law  does  not  allow  him  to  labor 
on  Sunday,  therefore  he  must  labor  on  Satur- 
day. One  day  he  must  also  observe  as  holy 
day.  He  cannot  observe  Saturday.  We  pro- 
pose to  give  him  a  chance  to  observe  Sunday. 
The  Jewish  wives  and  children  continue  to  observe 
Saturday.  It  is  not  thought  of  changing  that. 
We  only  want  to  give  the  Saturday  workers  a 
chance.  But  I  do  not  believe,  if  we  should  even 
accept  Sunday  for  the  Sabbath,  that  any  great 
harm  could  come  to  Judaism."  This  is  a  re- 
markable admission  for  a  Hebrew  rabbi  to  make, 
and  indicates  an  unexpected  degree  of  enlighten- 
ment and  liberality  on  the  subject.  When  a 
Hebrew  who  does  not  believe  in  Christ  at  all, 
who  has  no  desire  to  commemorate  the  resur- 
rection or  the  consummation  of  Christ's  redemp- 
tive work  because  he  scornfully  rejects  both,  who 
has  the  influence  of  thousands  of  generations  of 
his  people  to  make  him  prejudiced  in  favor  of  the 
seventh-day  Sabbath,  and  who  takes  into  account 
only  the  nature  of  the  institution,  admits  that  the 

(107) 


222  The  Sahhath  made  for  All 

true  Sabbath  can  be  observed  as  well  upon  one 
day  as  another,  how  preposterous  it  is  for  Chris- 
tians to  say  that  there  can  be  no  real  Sabbath 
which  is  not  kept  upon  the  seventh  day  of  the 
week ! 

We  may  adopt  it  as  a  settled  conclusion  that 
the  Sabbath  is  independent  of  the  day  on  which 
it  is  observed,  and  that  the  change  of  day  has  in 
no  wise  affected  the  institution.  If  there  were 
good  reasons  for  the  change,  nothing  in  the  nature 
of  the  case  interfered  with  making  it.  We  have 
seen  that  there  were  such  reasons  in  the  purpose 
of  our  Lord  to  clear  the  Sabbath  of  the  abuses 
which  the  Pharisees  had  bound  upon  it,  in  the 
necessity  of  adapting  it  to  the  situation  of  the 
Gentile  Christians  by  removing  their  prejudices 
against  what  was  distinctively  Jewish,  and  in  the 
divine  intention  to  make  the  day  commemora- 
tive of  the  resurrection  as  well  as  of  the  com- 
pleted work  of  creation.  The  day  was  changed, 
but  the  institution  remains  intact. 

Three  points  which  have  been  in  dispute  seem 
to  be  settled  by  our  examination  of  the  reasons  for 
this  change,  the  authority  on  which  it  was  made 
and  the  absence  of  any  effect  produced  by  it 
upon  the  Sabbath  itself.  First,  those  Christians 
who  insist  that  we  ought  to  keep  the  seventh  day 
of  the  week  as  the  Sabbath  have  no  good  reason 

(108) 


The  Christian  Sabbath  Day.  223 

for  their  position.     They  are    adherents  to  "  the 
letter"    which    ^^killeth/'   and   totally  disregard 
"the  spirit"  which  "maketh  alive."     They  are 
worse  Judaizers  than  the  Jews  themselves.     They 
exalt  that  which  is  wholly  non-essential  above 
other  things  of  vastly  greater  importance.     Con- 
scientious and  earnest  as  they  may  be  in  their 
persistent  and  vigorous  efforts  to  bring  all  Chris- 
tians to  their  way  of  thinking,  we  cannot  but  feel 
that  they  are  wasting  their  energies  in  trying  to 
attain  an  object  which,  if  attained,  would   be  of 
no  value.     On  the  contrary,  it  would  be  a  positive 
injury  to  Christians  if  they  should  all  go  back  to 
the  seventh-day  Sabbath ;  for  in  that  case  they 
would  lose  what  is  distinctively  Christian  in  the 
Sabbath  as  we  now  have  it.     To  use  a  familiar 
figure,  they  would  turn  back  the  hands  upon  the 
dial-plate  of  the  world's  history.     For  the  sake 
of  a  worthless  literalism,  they  would  deprive  the 
Sabbath  of  all  the  sweet  and  blessed  associations 
which  have  gathered  around  it  as   "the   Lord's 
day."     There  is  almost  as  much  reason  for  going 
back  to  the  sacrifices  of  the    Jews.     It  is   this 
spirit  of  devotion  to  the  letter   of  Jewish  law 
which  Paul  again  and  again  condemns,  and  against 
which  he  urges  Christians  to  assert  their  liberty. 
Second,  it  is  made  evident  that  there  is  no  ground 
for  the  assertion  which  is  so  often  made  that  the 

(109) 


224  The  Sabbath  made  for  AIL 

change  of  day  involved  a  complete  abrogation  of 
the  Sabbath  law  or  the  fourth  commandment.  It 
is  certainly  a  misapprehension  of  the  Sabbath 
which  leads  men  to  say  that  to  keep  it  at  all  in- 
volves keeping  it  on  the  seventh  day.  Though 
there  is  abundant  authority  in  the  actions  and 
writings  of  the  apostles  for  changing  the  day, 
they  say  not  one  word  about  the  abrogation  of 
the  Sabbath.  The  institution,  therefore,  stands, 
for  the  law  establishing  it  must  be  considered  as 
having  binding  force  until  it  is  repealed.  What 
they  say  about  the  moral  law  as  the  highest  rule 
of  human  conduct  would  lead  to  this  conclusion. 
In  all  the  writings  of  the  fathers  there  is  nothing 
to  indicate  that  they  thought  men  had  been  re- 
leased from  the  obligation  to  devote  every  seventh 
day  to  rest  and  religious  purposes.  To  say,  as 
many  writers  do,  that  Christians  have  virtually 
asserted  the  abrogation  of  the  Sabbath  by  keep- 
ing the  first  instead  of  the  seventh  day  of  the 
week,  and  that  "  the  Lord's  day  "  is  in  no  sense 
the  Sabbath  and  rests  upon  an  entirely  different 
foundation,  if  it  has  any  good  foundation  at  all, 
is  to  make  a  statement  that  is  not  warranted  by 
the  facts.  Good  and  able  men  have  expressed 
this  opinion,  but  they  have  strangely  misunder- 
stood the  nature  of  the  Sabbath,  and  strangely 
disregarded  the  necessary  permanency  of  the  law 

(110) 


The  Christian  Sabhath  Day.  225 

bj  which  it  was  established.  Third,  there  is  no 
reason  whatever  for  those  Christians  who  keep 
the  first  day  of  the  week  as  the  Sabbath  to  feel 
that  they  are  without  sufficient  warrant  for  their 
practice.  They  soiAetimes  wonder  whether  the 
custom  to  which  they  are  conforming  is  not,  to 
some  extent,  responsible  for  the  growing  indiffer- 
ence in  this  country  to  the  claims  of  the  Sabbath. 
No  one  should  be  disturbed  by  such  questionings. 
There  is  nothing  shadowy  or  uncertain  about  the 
foundation  on  which  "  the  Lord's  day "  rests. 
We  have  the  authority  of  inspired  apostles  to 
w^arrant  us  in  its  observance.  We  reject  the 
seventh-day  Sabbath  on  the  same  authority.  If 
the  conscience  of  any  Christian  troubles  him  on 
this  account,  it  must  be  because  he  has  been  af- 
fected by  the  same  Judaizing  influences  which 
Paul  so  much  deprecated  in  his  day.  The  change 
of  day  does  not  free  us  from  the  law  of  the  Sab- 
bath, neither  have  we  transgressed  that  law  by 
observing  the  Sabbath  upon  the  first  day  of  the 
week.  Secure  in  following  the  example  of  the 
apostles,  we  may  continue  in  the  observance  of 
"  the  Lord's  day,"  feeling  certain  that  the  Sabbath 
itself  will  stand  unshaken  until  we  are  ready  to 
enter  into  the  enjoyment  of  that  eternal  Sabbath 
which  remains  for  the  people  of  God. 

15  (111) 


PART  III. 

NATURE  AND  IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  SABBATH. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

GROUNDS  OF  THE  OBLIGATION  TO  KEEP  THE  LORD's  DAY. 

One  day  thou  wilt  be  blest ; 
So  still  obey  the  guiding  hand  that  fends 
Thee  safely  through  these  wonders  for  such  ends. — Keats. 

In  the  previous  chapters  we  have  shown  that 
the  Sabbath  is  a  divine  institution,  which  God 
established  for  all  men  and  which  he  designed  to 
be  of  perpetual  obligation.  In  maintaining  this 
we  have  examined  two  lines  of  proof.  The  first 
was  that  which  is  derived  from  the  consideration 
of  the  fact  that  the  Sabbath  is  necessary  to  the 
welfare  of  man.  This  was  held  to  make  it  froh- 
able  that  God  would  establish  it  at  the  beginning, 
and  require  its  observance  of  all  men  in  every 
age.  The  second  was  the  direct  evidence  which 
appears  in  the  Bible  that  God  did  sanctify  the 
seventh  day,  and  require  men  to  keep  it  holy. 
We  have  found  that,  according  to  the  record,  the 
Sabbath  was  instituted  at  the  creation ;  that  its 

(1) 


228    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

observance  was  commanded  in  the  moral  law 
given  on  Sinai,  which  law  has  never  been  re- 
pealed; that  Christ,  instead  of  abrogating  the 
Sabbath,  sanctioned  it,  and  gave  instructions  con- 
cerning the  proper  method  of  observing  it;  and 
that,  while  the  apostles  changed  the  day  on  which 
it  was  kept,  they  said  no  word  to  indicate  that 
the  Sabbath  was  abolished.  We  are  now  pre- 
pared to  examine  the  grounds  on  which  the  obli- 
gation to  keep  the  Lord's  day  rests. 

Why  should  men  "  remember  the  sabbath  day, 
to  keep  it  holy  "  ?  The  all-sufficient  answer  is, 
Because  God  has  commanded  it,  and  he  would 
not  command  an  unreasonable  or  useless  observ- 
ance. We  are  content  to  rest  the  obligation  upon 
the  "  holy,  and  just,  and  good"  law  of  God.  That 
law,  which  is  the  expression  of  the  divine  nature, 
and  which  perfectly  conforms  to  the  "  course  and 
constitution "  of  things,  is  the  one  safe  and  sure 
foundation  on  which  to  rest  any  observance. 
Obeying  that  law,  it  is  impossible  to  go  wrong. 
The  law  of  the  Sabbath  is  part  of  the  universal 
law  which  men  violate  only  at  the  expense  of 
throwing  themselves  out  of  harmony  with  the 
universe  and  with  God,  and  of  being  crushed  by 
those  forces  which  the  Omnipotent  marshals  to 
destroy  whatever  puts  itself  in  the  way  of  his 
beneficent  purposes. 

(2) 


Obligation  to  Keep  the  Lord's  Day.        229 

True,  all  are  not  agreed  that  there  is  any  re- 
quirement in  this  case.  Maintaining  that  the  law 
of  the  Sabbath  is  abolished,  many  writers  assert 
that  if  we  are  to  have  any  Sabbath,  its  observ- 
ance should  be  secured,  not  by  teaching  men  that 
it  is  commanded  in  the  law  of  God,  but  by  show- 
ing them  that  it  is  a  privilege,  or  that  it  is  expe- 
dient, or  that  it  is  for  the  good  of  society,  or  that 
the  Church  requires  it,  or  that  love  for  Christ  will 
prompt  it.  It  is  necessary  to  examine  these  pro- 
posed foundations  for  the  Lord's  day,  and  to  dis- 
cover how  far  any  one  of  them  is  likely  to  afford 
a  secure  and  lasting  basis  for  the  institution. 

Among  those  Christians  who  feel  that  the 
Church,  or  that  particular  branch  of  it  to  which 
they  belong,  has  authority  to  create  or  abolish  in- 
stitutions of  this  kind,  no  further  authority  is 
needed  for  the  Lord's  day  than  that  their  "Church"  - 
requires  its  observance.  The  devout  Romanist 
will  yield  instant  and  complete  acquiescence  to 
the  decrees  of  his  "Church."  And  there  are 
others,  not  of  that  communion,  who  appeal  to  the 
same  kind  of  authority  in  trying  to  enforce  the 
duty  of  observing  the  Lord's  day.  Alford,  in 
commenting  on  Romans  14:5,  says,  "  I  there- 
fore infer  that  sabbatical  obligation  to  keep  any 
day,  whether  seventh  or  first,  was  not  recognized 
in  apostolic  times.     It  must  be  carefully  remem- 

(3) 


230    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

bered  that  this  inference  does  not  concern  the 
question  of  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  day  as 
an  institution  of  the  Christian  Church,  analogous 
to  the  ancient  Sabbath,  binding  upon  us  from 
considerations  of  humanity  and  religious  expe- 
diency, and  by  the  rules  of  that  branch  of  the 
Church  in  which  Providence  has  placed  us,  but 
not  in  any  way  inheriting  the  divinely-appointed 
obligation  of  the  other,  or  the  strict  prohibitions 
by  which  its  sanctity  was  defended."  * 

We  have  already*  shown  that  he  is  in  error  with 
regard  to  the  repeal  of  the  Sabbath  law.  The 
apostle  is  not,  in  this  passage,  arguing  against  the 
Sabbath,  but  against  the  enforcement  upon  the 
Gentiles  of  the  requirement  to  observe  it  upon 
the  seventh  day  of  the  week.  Let  us  see  whether 
Dean  Alford's  reasons  for  keeping  the  Lord's  day 
are  adequate.  He  calls  it  an  "  institution  of  the 
Christian  Church,"  by  which  he  means,  undoubt- 
edly, that  it  originated  in  the  action  of  the  Church 
subsequent  to  the  time  of  the  apostles.  But  we 
have  seen  that  it  had  an  apostolic  and  not  simply 
an  ecclesiastical  origin.  If  it  had  only  the  latter, 
it  had  no  basis  of  divine  authority.  He  would 
have  us  keep  it  because  it  is  "binding  upon  us" 
by  the  rules  of  that  branch  of  the  Church  in  which 


*  "  Greek  Testament,"  vol.  ii.  p.  452. 
(4) 


Obligation  to  Keep  the  Lord's  Day.        231 

Providence  has  placed  us.  As  Protestants  we 
deny  the  right  of  the  Church  to  make  such  rules. 
The  Bible  is  our  "  only  rule  of  faith  and  prac- 
tice." A  "  Church "  derives  its  right  to  control 
the  conduct  of  its  members  from  the  inspired 
word,  and  cannot  require  anything  beyond  what 
it  commands.  But  suppose  we  admit  that  a 
"  Church  "  may  legislate  for  its  own  members,  its 
action  in  no  wise  affects  those  who  do  not  belong 
to  it.  Are  they  at  liberty  to  enact  contradictory 
and  conflicting  laws?  If  one  denomination  of 
Christians  may,  on  its  own  motion,  require  its 
members  to  keep  the  Lord's  day  holy,  another 
denomination  may  certainly  give  its  members 
liberty  not  to  keep  it,  or  may  even  require  them 
not  to.  What  would  we  say  of  a  "  Church  "  which 
should  take  such  action?  We  could  not  resist 
the  feeling  that  it  had  transcended  its  rights  and 
violated  the  law  of  God.  He  says  also  that  the 
Lord's  day  is  "  binding  upon  us  from  considera- 
tions of  humanity  and  religious  expediency."  We 
do  not  deny  it.  Both  of  these  are  reasons  why 
we  should  keep  the  Sabbath.  It  is  an  institution 
fraught  with  manifold  blessings  to  the  world,  and 
he  sins  against  his  fellow  men  who  does  anything 
to  impair  it.  It  is  especially  needed  by  the  poor, 
and  common  "  humanity "  would  require  us  to 
give  it  to  them.    It  is  "  expedient "  to  observe  it, 

(5) 


232    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

for  it  is  only  by  keeping  it  that  men  are  enabled 
to  meet  for  worship  and  religious  instruction,  and 
to  perform  other  duties  incumbent  upon  them. 
But  only  a  very  small  portion  of  the  race  can  be 
made  to  see  these  reasons.  They  require  a  "  thus 
saith  the  Lord."  A  manufacturer  might  feel  that 
his  employes  were  just  as  well  off  without  a 
Sabbath,  and  so  an  appeal  to  his  '^humanity" 
would  be  vain.  Large  numbers  of  men,  probably 
a  majority  in  any  Christian  land,  would  say  that 
it  was  more  "  humane  "  to  allow  them  to  hunt  or 
fish  or  ride  or  walk  in  the  fields,  or  go  on  an  ex- 
cursion, than  to  ask  them  to  attend  church,  and 
would  regard  it  as  more  "  expedient "  for  them  to 
do  it.  The  practical  results  of  placing  the  ob- 
servance of  the  Lord's  day  upon  such  grounds 
alone  have  always  been  disastrous.  It  is  giving 
the  average  man  a  much  larger  measure  of  liberty 
than  he  is  capable  of  wisely  enjoying.  It  leaves 
so  much  discretionary  with  us  that  most  men  will 
follow  their  impulses  rather  than  any  lofty  regu- 
lative principle. 

The  position  taken  by  Alford  is  substantially 
the  same  as  that  taken  by  the  reformers  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  They  had  felt  the  require- 
ments of  the  Papal  Church  as  intolerable  bond- 
age, and  it  w\as  natural  that,  in  the  reaction,  they 
should  go  to  extremes.     And  so  we  hear  Luther 

(6) 


Obligation  to  Keep  the  Lord's  Day.       233 

saying,  "  Keep  it  holy  for  its  use's  sake  both  to 
body  and  soul ;  but  if  anywhere  the  day  is  made 
holy  for  the  mere  day's  sake — if  anywhere  any 
one  sets  up  its  observance  on  a  Jewish  foundation 
— then  I  order  you  to  work  on  it,  to  ride  on  it, 
to  dance  on  it,  to  feast  on  it,  to  do  anything  that 
shall  remove  this  encroachment  on  Christian  lib- 
erty." *  Afterward  he  qualified  this  so  as  to  make 
it  only  an  exaggerated  expression  of  his  opinion 
that  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  day  cannot  be 
required  by  law. 

In  the  "  Larger  Catechism,"  commenting  on  the 
fourth  commandment,  he  says,  "  We  celebrate 
festivals,  not  for  the  sake  of  intelligent  and  in- 
structed Christians  (for  these  have  no  need  of 
them),  but  first,  even  for  the  sake  of  the  body. 
Nature  herself  teaches  the  lesson  that  the  work- 
ing classes,  servants  and  maids  are  to  be  consid- 
ered ;  they  have  spent  the  whole  week  in  laborious 
employment,  and  require  a  day  on  which  they 
may  take  breath  from  their  work,  and  refresh 
themselves,  and  restore  their  exhausted  frames 
by  repose.  The  second  reason,  and  indeed  the 
chief  one,  is  this  :  that  on  such  a  day  of  rest, 
leisure  and  time  may  be  obtained  for  divine  wor- 
ship (a  duty  for  which,  otherwise,  no  opportunity 

^  "  Table  Talk." 

(7) 


234    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath, 

could  be  found),  so  that  we  may  come  together 
to  hear  and  handle  the  word  of  God,  and,  further, 
that  we  may  glorify  God  with  hymns  and  psalms, 
with  songs  and  prayers." 

This  is  a  fuller  statement  of  what  is  meant  by 
"humanity"  and  "religious  expediency."  But 
suppose  every  one  should  set  himself  up  as  an 
"  intelligent  and  instructed  Christian,"  and  claim 
that  he  needed  no  Sabbath,  what  would  become' 
of  the  Lord's  day,  even  as  Luther  would  have  it 
observed  ?  Luther's  view  was  shared,  with  some 
modifications,  by  his  fellow  reformers,  Calvin, 
Zwingli,  Bucer,  Peter  Martyr  and  others  *  What 
has  been  the  result?  The  practical  destruction 
of  the  Sabbath.  Every  one  familiar  with  the 
state  of  things  on  the  continent  of  Europe  knows 
that  the  Lord's  day  is  very  little  regarded.  The 
great  mass  of  men  are  not  moved  by  shadowy 
notions  about  "  humanity  "  and  "  expediency." 
Comparatively  few  of  those  in  Europe  who  have 
come  under  this  influence  use  any  part  of  the 
Lord's  day  even  for  church-going,  and  those  who 
do,  feel  themselves  at  liberty  to  spend  the  re- 
mainder in  amusements.  As  these  peoples  of 
Europe  have  been  taught  to  believe  that  there  is 
nothing  holy  about  the  day,  they  make  it  a  hol- 


*  See  Hessey,  pp.  168-172. 
(8) 


Obligation  to  Keep  the  Lord's  Day,        235 

ida}^,  so  far  as  it  differs  from  other  days.  In  many 
places  business  goes  on  as  usual,  and  "humanity" 
constrains  no  one  to  have  mercy  on  the  working 
classes.  This  violation  of  the  Sabbath  is  the 
direct  result  of  wrong  doctrine  concerning  it. 
This  exaggerated  notion  of  Christian  liberty  may 
have  a  certain  attractiveness  to  those  who  cannot 
see  the  beauty  of  law ;  but  it  is  very  dangerous 
for  the  great  mass  of  mankind.  Teach  men  that 
they  need  not  observe  the  Sabbath,  and  most  of 
them  ivill  not.  In  England  and  America  we  have 
been  taught  to  believe  that  to  violate  the  Sabbath 
is  a  sin  against  God,  a  transgression  of  his  law. 
The  difference  between  the  continental  and  the 
Anglo-American  Sunday  is  sufficient  proof  that 
wrong  doctrine  of  the  Sabbath  is  at  the  founda- 
tion of  its  non-observance  in  the  former  case. 
Conduct  is  regulated  by  belief.  Men  may  be 
w^orse  than  their  opinions,  but  it  is  quite  certain 
that  they  will  never  be  better. 

Dr.  Philip  Schaff,  whose  acquaintance  with  the 
facts  will  not  be  questioned,  and  whose  judgment 
concerning  the  cause  is  entitled  to  the  highest 
respect,  says  on  this  subject,  "  There  has  been 
no  radical  reform  of  the  Sabbath  on  the  continent 
of  Europe  since  the  Reformation,  but  rather  a 
fearful  progress  of  Sabbath-desecration  in  insep- 
arable connection  with  a  growing  neglect  of  public 

(9) 


236    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

worship.  This  crying  evil  forms  one  of  the 
greatest  obstacles  to  the  spread  of  vital  religion 
among  the  people,  and  can  never  be  successfully 
overcome  except  on  the  basis  of  a  stricter  theory 
than  that  which  generally  prevails  in  the  greater 
part  of  the  old  world."  * 

We  hear  much  about  the  continental,  Sunday, 
and  good  men  are  troubled  with  sad  forebodings 
lest  it  should  be  transplanted  to  American  soil. 
There  could  be  no  surer  way  of  bringing  about 
this  dreaded  calamity  than  for  Christian  teachers 
generally  to  announce  that  we  are  under  no  other 
obligation  to  keep  the  Lord's  day  holy  than  that 
which  grows  out  of  " humanity "  and  "religious 
expediency."  This  is  not  sufficiently  solid  ground 
on  which  to  build  an  institution  which  the  greed 
and  carnality  of  men  will  incite  them  to  destroy. 

Differing  but  little  from  this  is  the  opinion  or 
theory  that  the  obligation  to  keep  the  Lord's  day 
holy  rests  upon  our  love  for  Christ  and  for  our 
fellow  men.  This  view  has  been  presented  and 
strongly  advocated  by  Dr.  George  B.  Bacon.  He 
says,  "  I  hope  to  show  in  the  particular  case 
which  I  have  taken  in  hand  how  our  Lord's  day 
has  greater  glory  than  the  Jewish  Sabbath.  Only 
let  us  first  complete  and  fortify  the  argument  for' 


*  Princeton  Review^  vol.  xxxv.  p.  551. 
(10) 


Obligation  to  Keep  the  Lord's  Day.       237 

its  observance.  For  since  the  law  written  and 
engraven  in  stones,  with  all  its  glory,  is  done 
away,  we  have  no  right  to  rest  the  argument  on 
the  commandment.  And,  since  the  living  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  prompts  the  observance,  we  have  no 
need  to  rest  the  argument  on  the  commandment, 
but  appeal  directly  to  the  liberty  of  love.  Does 
the  love  of  Christ  constrain  us  to  it?  Does  the 
love  of  God,  the  love  of  man,  the  love  of  our  own 
souls,  impel  us  to  the  voluntary  commemoration 
of  this  first  day  of  the  week  ?  Or  does  this  love 
find  fit  and  useful  expression  in  such  a  commem- 
oration ?"  *  All  these  questions  he  answers  in 
the  affirmative,  and  his  answers  are  true.  No  one 
can  doubt  that  these  are  the  noblest  motives  by 
which  men  can  be  actuated  to  keep  the  Lord's 
day.  Every  one  who  is  capable  of  feeling  them 
must  acknowledge  that  one  who  is  moved  by 
them  can  keep  it  with  far  greater  joy  and  profit 
than  are  possible  to  him  who  regards  it  as  a  bur- 
den, and  keeps  it  only  because  he  feels  that  he 
ought.  At  the  same  time,  this  theory  is  weak 
just  where  the  one  previously  noticed  is  weak. 
These  motives  are  not  felt  by  any  except  the 
most  advanced  Christians  with  sufficient  strength 
to  impel  them  to  observe  the  Sabbath  at  all.     It 

*  "  Sabbath  Question,"  pp.  209,  210. 

(11) 


238    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sabbath. 

makes  us  blush  for  our  common  humanity  to 
acknowledge  it,  but  it  is  neA^ertheless  true.  This 
is,  no  doubt,  the  ideal  of  Christian  liberty  that 
men  should  do  right  because  they  love  to ;  but  if 
you  say  to  men  in  general,  do  as  you  please,  they 
will  please  to  do  wrong.  Paul  found  that  the  Chris- 
tians of  his  time  were  ready  enough  to  abuse  the 
liberty  which  he  proclaimed  as  their  right  in 
Christ,  and  even  claimed  the  liberty  to  indulge  in 
gross  sin.  The  history  of  the  Church  shows  that 
whenever  liberty  has  been  asserted  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  law,  license  has  been  the  immediate  re- 
sult. The  plain  teaching  of  Scripture  is  that 
men  can  never  rise  above  the  law  as  a  rule  of 
conduct,  and  that  so  long  as  they  do  not  obey  it 
spontaneously  and  gladly,  they  are  to  obey  it  from 
a  senge  of  obligation.  This  was  clearly  shown  in 
another  part  of  the  discussion.  Happy  is  the 
man  who  can  rise  superior  to  the  law  because 
"  the  love  of  Christ  constraineth  "  him  gladly  to 
obey  it;  but  until  we  are  perfect  we  must  ac- 
knowledge the  law's  restraints.  If  love  to  Christ 
and  to  your  fellow  men  and  to  your  own  soul 
impels  you  to  observe  the  Lord's  day,  you  may 
forget  the  fourth  commandment ;  but  if  it  does  not, 
you  are  yet  under  the  law.  The  law  has  never 
been  repealed ;  it  is  still  binding  upon  every  one 
of  us.     Christ  has  not  changed  it.     He  has  only 

(12) 


Obligation  to  Keep  the  Lord's  Day.       239 

changed  some  of  us  so  that  we  can  obey  it  with 
joy.  Hence  we  insist  that  the  attempt  to  make 
love  the  sole  foundation  of  the  obligation  to 
observe  the  Lord's  day  is  unsafe,  because  it  will 
be  understood  by  those  in  whom  this  motive  is 
not  sufficiently  strong  that  they  need  not  keep  it 
at  all.  It  may  be  said  that  they  ought  to  love 
Christ,  and  that  this  is  the  first  obligation  to  put 
before  them.  We  grant  it;  but  we  must  not 
tell  them  that  they  are  at  liberty  to  lie  or  steal 
until  they  do  love  him.  We  thus  come  back  to 
the  fundamental  principle  that  law  must  be  en- 
forced— that  the  conscience  must  be  appealed  to 
— until  liberty  is  safe  because  the  heart  is  right. 
Another  difficulty  with  this  view,  as  with  the 
preceding,  is  that  it  leaves  too  much  discretionary 
with  the  individual.  On  this  theory  it  is  sub- 
mitted to  his  judgment  whether  he  will  keep  the 
Sabbath  or  disregard  it.  He  is  also  at  liberty  to 
choose  in  what  manner  he  will  observe  it.  Now 
God  has  not  left  men  with  this  degree  of  license. 
He  knows  too  well  how  certainly  men  go  astray 
when  allowed  to  choose  their  own  course.  We 
are  so  full  of  sin,  our  desires  are  so  corrupt,  our 
hearts  are  so  selfish,  that  we  need  an  infallible 
guide  in  all  matters  of  conduct.  As  well  leave  a 
man  delirious  with  fever  to  choose  his  own  med- 
icine, as  to  leave  a  man  to  take  his  own  course  in 

(13) 


240    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sabbath. 

a  matter  so  vitally  related  to  his  eternal  welfare 
as  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  day. 

And  this  leads  us  to  notice  a  third  foundation 
which  has  been  laid  for  the  obligation  to  keep  the 
Sabbath.  It  is  maintained  that  the  Jewish  Sab- 
bath has  been  wholly  abrogated,  and  that  the 
Lord's  day  is  an  entirely  new  institution,  resting 
upon  the  basis  of  apostolic  example.  This  is  the 
position  taken  by  Dr.  Hessey,  though  he  admits 
that  there  is  an  analogy  between  the  Jewish  Sab- 
bath and  the  Lord's  day.  He  says,  "  The  Lord's 
day  is  not  a  continuance,  in  the  strict  sense  of 
that  word,  of  the  Sabbath,  but  rests  upon  a 
foundation  of  its  own."  *  This  he  has  previously 
explained  to  be  the  example  of  the  apostles. 
Thus,  "  the  Lord's  day  (a  festival  on  the  first 
day  in  each  week  in  memory  of  our  Lord's  res- 
urrection) is  of  divine  institution,  and  peculiarly 
Christian  in  its  character,  as  being  indicated  in 
the  New  Testament,  and  having  been  acknowl- 
edged by  the  apostles  and  their  immediate  fol- 
lowers as  distinct  from  the  Sabbath  (a  Jewish 
festival  on  the  seventh  day  in  each  week),  the 
obligation  to  observe  which  is  denied,  both  ex- 
pressly and  by  implication,  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment." f     With  this  we  have  little  fault  to  find. 

*  "  Sunday,"  p.  136.  f  Ibid,,  p.  14. 

(14) 


Obligation  to  Keep  the  Lord's  Day,       241 

There  can  be  no  question  that  we  have  apostolic 
authority  for  changing  the  Sabbath  from  the 
seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the  week.  But  we 
deny  that  the  Lord's  day  is  wholly  independent 
of  the  Jewish  Sabbath.  It  is  the  same  institu- 
tion modified  to  suit  the  needs  of  the  Christian 
Church ;  otherwise  we  are  wholly  in  the  dark  as 
to  the  proper  method  of  observing  it.  If  you 
say  that  we  may  learn  this  from  the  fourth  com- 
mandment as  interpreted  by  Christ  and  the  apos- 
tles, you  admit  all  that  we  claim,  namely,  that 
the  Sabbath  has  been  transferred  to  the  first  day 
of  the  week.  But  where  else  shall  we  go  to 
learn  it?  We  have  simply  the  two  facts  that  the 
apostles  and  early  Christians  were  accustomed  to 
hold  religious  meetings  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  and  that  they  declared  the  seventh-day 
Sabbath  to  be  abolished.  They  do  not  tell  us, 
however,  that  the  Sabbath  as  an  institution  is 
done  away,  neither  do  they  give  any  instruction 
about  how  to  keep  the  Lord's  day.  If  they  had 
been  founding  an  entirely  new  institution,  which 
had  no  direct  relation  to  anything  in  the  past, 
would  they  not  have  been  likely  to  have  given 
some  hint,  at  least,  as  to  the  proper  method  of 
observing  it  ?  If  it  be  said,  in  reply,  that  this 
was  their  usual  method — that  they  left  the  foi-m 
of  organization  and  the  ordinances  of  the  Church 

16  (1§) 


242    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

to  be  shaped  by  the  inworking  Spirit  and  subse- 
quent events — we  answer  that,  in  our  opinion, 
these  matters  were  very  definitely  determined  by 
their  commands  and  example,  and  that  we  should 
expect  the  same  thing  with  regard  to  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Lord's  day  if  it  were  an  entirely  new 
institution.  We  do  not  deny  that  we  are  bound, 
in  matters  of  Christian  observance,  by  the  ex- 
ample of  the  apostles ;  but  we  have  something 
far  more  plain  and  explicit  concerning  the  Sabbath 
in  the  fourth  commandment,  which  they  did  not 
repeal  and  which  is  still  binding  upon  us.  Men 
need  this  explicitness.  The  average  mind  is  more 
readily  moved  by  a  direct  command  than  by  an 
inference  drawn  from  the  example  of  even  inspired 
men.  They  may  dispute  the  inference,  but  they 
cannot  dispute  the  command.  We  desire  to  know 
and  teach  -the  truth.  Men  may  be  temporarily 
injured  by  knowing  the  full  measure  of  their 
liberty;  but,  in  the  long  run,  they  had  better 
know  the  whole  truth.  We  would  not  pretend 
that  the  fourth  commandment  is  still  in  force 
simply  because  we  feared  to  declare  the  contrary. 
That  is  not  our  argument.  We  have  already 
shown  that  there  is  no  evidence  in  the  Scriptures 
of  its  abrogation.  What  we  here  claim  is  that 
this  conclusion  is  borne  out  by  the  fact  that  no 
other  ground  of  obligation  to  keep  the  Sabbath  is 

(16) 


Ohligation  to  Keep  the  Lord's  Day.       243 

adequate.  On  no  other  basis  will  it  commend 
itself  to  the  judgment  and  consciences  of  the 
great  mass  of  mankind.  We  do  not  fear  liberty 
when  its  enjoyment  is  in  accordance  with  the 
divine  plan ;  but  we  have  no  evidence  that  it  is 
God's  plan  to  annul  the  original  law  of  the  Sab- 
bath and  leave  us  to  find  wholly  new  reasons  for 
keeping  it. 

It  should  not  be  inferred  from  anything  that 
has  been  said  that  Dean  Alford,  Dr.  Bacon  or 
Dr.  Hessey  wrote  in  antagonism  to  the  Sabbath. 
Nothing  in  their  writings  shows  any  but  the 
strongest  desire  that  this  blessed  institution 
should  be  sacredly  preserved.  Their  desire  to 
promote  its  proper  observance  led  them  to  study 
and  think  and  write  upon  it.  They  tried  honestly 
to  find  the  best  ground  on  which  to  base  such  an 
observance.  It  is  because  we  think  they  erred, 
in  departing  from  the  plain  letter  of  the  law  and 
seeking  something  else  for  a  basis  of  the  Lord's 
day,  that  we  have  criticised  their  presentation  of 
the  subject.  The  reasons  for  observing  the  Lord's 
day  which  they  have  advanced  ought  to  be  suf- 
ficient to  lead  all  men  to  observe  it.  We  do  not 
reject  these  reasons ;  we  only  say  that  the  first 
and  strongest  and  best  reason  is  in  the  law  of 
God.  But  we  must  notice  in  this  connection  one 
theory   put   forth    by   Christian  men,  which,  if 

(17) 


244    Nature  and , Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

adopted,  would  be  totally  destructive  of  the  Sab- 
bath and  of  everything  closely  connected  with  it 
— of  true  religion  itself.  This  is  the  view  that 
to  the  true  Christian  all  days  are  alike  holy ; 
that,  since  he  is  to  do  all  things  to  the  glory  of 
God,  he  must  consecrate  all  his  time  to  God's 
service ;  that  to  set  apart  one  day  as  sacred  is  to 
belittle  and  secularize  the  others,  and  that  he 
does  not  need  any  such  day,  since  he  carries  the 
spirit  of  perfect  consecration  into  all  that  he  does. 
This,  it  is  claimed,  is  what  Paul  meant  when  he 
said  that  one  day  is  as  good  as  another.  It 
argues  a  low  state  of  religion  when  men  need 
special  days  and  seasons.  If  they  were  only  far 
enough  advanced  in  the  divine  life,  they  would 
need  nothing  of  the  kind.  F.  W.  Robertson 
seems  to  favor  this  theory,  for  he  says,  speaking 
of  Paul's  doctrine  of  holy  days,  "  The  gospel  of 
Christ  had  sanctified  all  time ;  hence  no  time 
could  be  specially  God's.  For  to  assert  that 
Sunday  is  more  God's  day  than  Monday  is  to  main- 
tain by  implication  that  Monday  is  his  less  right- 
fully." *  He  maintains  the  need  of  the  Sabbath, 
but  holds  that  it  is  a  need  growing  out  of  our 
imperfections  as  Christians.  He  says  of  Paul, 
"  His  heart  would  have  sunk  within  him  could  he 


*  Sermons,  second  series,  p.  203. 
(18) 


Obligation  to  Keep  the  Lord's  Day.       245 

ha.ve  been  told  that  at  the  end  of  eighteen  cen- 
turies the  Christian  Church  would  still  be  observ- 
ing days  and  months  and  times  and  years — and, 
still  more,  needing  them."  * 

This  implies  that  a  time  may  come  when  there 
will  be  no  need  of  Sabbath.  On  its  surface  this 
theory  has  a  very  attractive  look ;  but  a  careful 
examination  shows  that  it  is  utterly  fallacious. 
It  is  a  half-truth,  and  on  that  account  the  worst 
of  falsehoods.  It  is  true  that  Monday  is  just  as 
much  God's  day  as  Sunday,  but  it  is  his,  by  his  own 
command,  for  a  different  purpose.  If  all  our  time 
belongs  to  God,  that  is  a  sufficient  reason  why  we 
should  use  it  as  he  directs.  Now,  he  has  told  us 
to  labor  six  days,  and  to  use  the  seventh  for  rest 
and  religious  exercises.  "  To  obey  is  better  than 
sacrifice."  To  have  an  obedient  spirit  and  to  act 
in  accordance  with  God's  will  is  a  better  means  of 
sanctifying  all  our  time  than  some  fancied  notion 
that,  since  it  all  belongs  to  God,  it  is  all  to  be  used 
in  one  way.  Whatever  we  do  in  obedience  to 
God's  will — the  meanest  toil  that  ever  occupied 
the  hands  of  a  common  laborer — is  thus  rendered 
holy.  It  is  the  spirit  in  which  one  uses  his  days 
which  determines  whether  or  not  they  are  sacred. 
Moreover,  this  theory,  if  carried  out  in  practice, 

*  Sermons,  second  series,  p.  205. 

(19) 


246    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

would  result  in  the  secularization  of  all  days  and 
the  sanctifying  of  none.  When  will  men  be  so 
holy  that  they  will  not  be  obliged  to  toil  for  their 
daily  bread,  to  work  on  farms,  in  shops,  in  stores, 
in  factories,  in  offices,  wherever  a  livelihood  may 
be  gained?  This  work  will  always  take  their 
attention,  occupy  their  thoughts  and  exhaust  their 
strength ;  hence  they  will  always  need  days 
when  they  can  rest,  and  give  their  attention  to 
other  matters.  The  Sabbath  has  a  foundation  in 
the  needs  of  men,  but  those  needs  will  continue 
as  long  as  time  lasts.  They  are  not  imperfections, 
they  are  constitutional  needs.  It  would  work 
disaster  to  the  spiritual  life  of  the  best  Christian 
if  he  were  to  attempt  to  do  the  same  things  on 
Sunday  that  he  does  on  other  days  with  the  idea 
that  he  could  make  them  all  religious.  We  shall 
always  need  the  quiet  and  meditation,  and  private 
and  public  worship,  of  the  Lord's  day  in  order 
that  on  other  days  we  may  maintain  a  spirit  of 
consecration.  Instead  of  importing  the  occupa- 
tions of  the  week  into  the  Sabbath  day,  we  must 
import  the  spirit  of  the  Lord's  day  into  the  other 
days  of  the  week. 

The  defects  of  this  view  have  been  so  well 
exposed  in  the  strong  and  beautiful  words  of 
Hengstenberg  that  a  somewhat  extended  quota- 
tion from  him  will  be  pardoned.     He  says,  "  The 

(20) 


OUigation  to  Keep  the  Lord's  Day,       247 

notion  that  this  want  {%.  e.,  the  want  of  fixed  and 
periodical  occasions  on  which  all  outward  hin- 
drances to  the  service  of  God  are  removed)  only 
existed  under  the  Old  Testament — that,  because 
(in  one  sense)  every  day  is  a  Sabbath  to  the 
Christian,  the  setting  apart  of  certain  days  is  only 
desirable  for  those  who  are  merely  outwardly 
members  of  the  New  Testament,  but  inwardly 
belong  to  the  Old — will  certainly  find  no  advocate 
in  the  truly  advanced  Christian,  but  only  in  those 
who  have  been  so  absorbed  in  their  imaginary 
self  as  to  lose  sight  of  what  they  really  are.  The 
false  spiritualism  from  which  such  assertions 
spring  is  a  worm  which  gnaws  more  destructively 
at  our  spiritual  life  than  legality  ever  can.  That 
which  is  true  in  theory  is  not  always  true  with- 
out restrictions  when  put  into  practice  by  indi- 
viduals ;  and  this  is  more  than  ever  the  case  in 
our  day,  whose  impurities  are  so  great,  whose 
faith  is  so  feeble,  and  whose  seeking  for  holiness 
is  so  destitute  of  earnestness.  If  we  were  mem- 
bers of  Christ  and  nothing  else,  we  should  no 
longer  require  to  set  apart  certain  times,  for  our 
whole  lives  would  be  an  uninterrupted  worship. 
But  the  flesh  still  exists  in  us  as  well  as  the 
spirit,  and  its  strength  is  alwa,ys  so  much  the 
greater  in  proportion  to  our  unconsciousness  of 
its  existence  :  and,  therefore,  the  louder  and  more 

(21) 


248    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

confident  a  man's  assertions  that  fixed  times  for 
assembling  are  superfluous,  and  the  more  he  de- 
spises those  who  think  them  necessary,  as  though 
they  could  not  tell  the  signs  of  the  times,  the 
stronger  the  proof  that  he  needs  them  still.  For 
flying,  something  more  is  required  than  simply  to 
fancy  that  we  have  wings.  He  who  is  conscious 
that  he  has  none,  and  pursues  his  pilgrimage 
humbly  leaning  upon  his  staff,  will  have  made 
the  greatest  progress  in  the  end.  The  continu- 
ance of  sin  in  us  always  brings  with  it  suscepti- 
bility to  external  impressions  and  to  the  influ- 
ence of  evil  around  us,  together  with  wanderings 
of  mind.  The  spark  may  fall  on  iron  without 
danger,  but  not  upon  the  tinder.  For  this  rea- 
son, in  order  that  we  may  pray  w^ithout  ceasing 
in  a  manner  befitting  our  station,  '  we  must  some- 
times enter  into  our  chamber  and  shut  the  door 
behind  us ;'  and  in  order  to  keep  every  day  as  a 
day  to  the  Lord,  we  must  keep  one  day  free  from 
everything  that  can  disturb  our  devotion.  Such 
disturbance  arises  most  from  our  earthly  employ, 
ments."  '^ 

Thus  we  come  back  to  the  position  that,  pri- 
marily, the  ground  of  obligation  on  which  the 
observance  of  the  Lord's  day  rests  is  the  law  of 


*  Quoted  by  Hessey,  "  Sunday,"  pp.  144,  145 
(22) 


OhligaUon  to  Keep  the  Lord's  Day        249 

God.  It  was  commanded  in  the  moral  law,  and 
that  law  has  never  been  repealed.  It  had  an 
earlier  origin  than  the  proclamation  of  the  ten 
commandments  on  Sinai ;  but,  even  if  this  were 
disproved,  it  would  still  be  binding  upon  all  men, 
for  those  commandments  are  expressions  of  the 
divine  will,  and  are  universal  rules  of  human 
conduct.  This,  then,  is  the  primary  reason  for 
remembering  "  the  sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy." 
It  is  a  duty  which  the  law  of  Jehovah  imposes 
upon  us.  He  has  given  the  institution  special 
sanctions  by  making  it  commemorative  of  the 
finished  work  of  creation,  and  of  the  finished 
work  of  redemption  wrought  out  for  us  by  his 
Son.  "  The  Sabbath,  then,  rests  upon  a  threefold 
basis — the  original  creation^  the  Jewish  legislation 
and  the  Christian  redemption!'  *  His  law  has 
made  it  the  monumental  sign  of  his  works. 

Yet  the  laws  of  God  are  never  arbitrary.  He 
never  lays  any  commands  upon  men,  obedience 
to  which  will  not  promote  their  highest  interests. 
They  may  feel  that  his  commands  restrict  their 
liberty,  but  the  only  true  liberty  is  that  which 
renders  glad  obedience  to  law.  And  when  men 
obey  God,  they  come  to  see,  after  a  while,  that 
benevolence  was  at  the  foundation  of  his   law- 


*  Schaff:  Princeton  Review ,  vol.  xxxv.  p.  539. 

(23) 


250    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

making.  He  does  not  command  a  thing  in  order 
to  make  it  right,  but  because  it  is  right.  If  he 
puts  restraints  upon  us,  it  is  that  they  may  hold 
us  as  the  anchor  holds  the  ship  and  keeps  it  from 
being  driven  upon  the  rocks.  If  he  compels  us 
to  go  in  paths  that  seem  to  be  rough  and  thorny, 
and  to  lead  in  a  direction  exactly  the  contrary  of 
that  which  we  would  take,  it  is  only  that  we  may 
be  brought  home  at  last. 

In  perfect  keeping  with  this  method  of  treating 
us,  we  have  found  that  the  Sabbath  is  necessary 
to  the  physical,  mental,  moral,  religious  and  social 
welfare  of  man.  God  gave  it,  not  for  his  own 
sake,  but  for  our  sake.  To  poor,  toiling,  suffer- 
ing, sinful  humanity  it  comes  laden  with  the 
choicest  blessings.  Hence,  love  for  our  fellow 
men  suggests  an  additional  reason  why  we  should 
"remember  the  sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy." 
We  shall  be  enemies  of  our  race  if  we  do  not. 
It  is  also  good  for  all  of  us  as  members  of 
the  race.  The  body,  mind  and  soul  of  every  man 
need  it.  Hence,  self-love — love  for  our  noblest 
and  highest  selves — will  prompt  us  to  obey  the 
law  of  the  Sabbath.  These  are  parts  of  the 
foundation  of  which  the  law  of  God  is  the  chief 
corner-stone.  For  obedience  to  the  law  of  God 
is  always  and  everywhere  the  best  means  of  pro- 
moting the  welfare  of  our  fellow  men,  and  the  one 

(24) 


Obligation  to  Keep  the  Lord^s  Day.        251 

sure  way  of  serving  our  own  highest  interests. 
Considerations  of  the  advantages  of  the  Sabbath 
help  us  to  obey  the  law  requiring  us  to  observe  it, 
for  they  show  us  how  reasonable  it  is,  and  make  us 
feel  that  in  keeping  it  we  are  receiving  a  blessing 
for  ourselves,  instead  of  bearing  a  burden,  and 
that  in  keeping  it  for  the  sake  of  others  w^e  are 
co-workers  with  God,  instead  of  slaves  of  an 
arbitrary  power. 

It  is  objected  that  this  is  mere  legalism,  a  return 
to  that  from  which  Christ  has  made  us  free,  and 
that  a  better  way  to  build  up  character — the  only 
purpose  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ — is  to  appeal 
to  love  as  a  constraining  motive.  We  answer,  as 
we  have  answered  before  in  substance,  that  legal- 
ism is  a  spirit,  and  not  an  action  or  a  series  of 
actions.  The  moral  law  can  never  be  done  away 
or  changed.  Jesus  said,  "  It  is  easier  for  heaven 
and  earth  to  pass,  than  one  tittle  of  the  law  to 
fail."  *  Christ  himself  obeyed  the  law.  When 
John  objected  to  baptizing  him,  he  said,  "  thus 
it  becometh  us  to  fulfil  all  righteousness."  f  He 
said,  "  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  him  that  sent 
me,  and  to  finish  his  work."  J  "I  seek  not  mine 
own  will,  but  the  will  of  the  Father  which  hath 
sent  me."  §     He  "  became  obedient  unto  death, 

*  Luke  16  :  17.  %  John  4  :  34. 

t  Matthew  3  :  15.  I  Ibid.  .5  ;  30. 

(25) 


252    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

even  the  death  of  the  cross."  *  Was  he,  there- 
fore, a  legalist,  a  mere  slave  of  the  law  ?  Was 
he  less  manly,  heroic,  self-denying,  benevolent, 
divine,  because  he  made  it  his  chief  purpose  in 
life  to  obey  the  law  of  the  Father  ?  When 
the  matter  is  put  in  this  light,  it  is  seen  at  once 
to  be  sheer  nonsense  to  say  that  there  is  any 
higher  or  nobler  reason  for  doing  a  thing  than 
because  it  is  in  the  law  of  God,  which  is  loved 
and  gladly  obeyed  by  every  one  whose  heart  is 
right  in  his  sight.  As  though  to  put  a  ban  upon 
all  sentimentalism  of  this  sort,  Christ  said,  "  Not 
every  one  that  saith  unto  me,  Lord,  Lord,  shall 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven ;  but  he  that 
doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  f 
"If  ye  love  me,  keep  my  commandments."  J 
Love  may  be  the  impelling  motive,  but  after  all 
the  great  thing  is  to  keep  the  commandments. 
Let  no  one  hope  that  he  can  find  higher  ground 
on  which  to  base  the  Sabbath  than  that  it  is 
among  the  things  commanded.  We  shall  rejoice 
when  we  are  enabled  to  see  that  among  all  peo- 
ples the  law  of  the  Sabbath  is  written,  "  not  in 
tables  of  stone,  but  in  fleshly  tables  of  the 
heart ;"  §  but  it  will  still  be  a  law,  and  obedience 
to  it  will  still  be  a  necessity. 

*  Philippians  2:8.  %  John  14  :  15. 

t  Matthew  7  :  21.  §  2  Corinthians  3  :  3. 

(26) 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE    JEWISH    SABBATH. 

And  call  the  sabbath  a  delight,  the  holy  of  the  Lord,  hon- 
orable.— Isaiah  58  :  13. 

However  clear  it  may  be  that  the  Sabbath  is  a 
divine  institution  designed  for  all  men,  that  its 
observance  is  of  perpetual  obligation,  and  that  it 
rests  upon  the  secure  foundation  of  the  eternal 
and  immutable  law  of  God,  our  work  would  not 
be  complete  should  we  fail  to  present  in  full  the 
teaching  of  God's  word  upon  the  nature,  import- 
ance and  proper  observance  of  the  Sabbath.  If 
men  are  told  that  they  are  under  obligation  to 
keep  it  holy,  they  will  ask  what  the  Sabbath  is. 
An  exposition  of  the  nature  of  the  obligation  is 
essential  to  its  enforcement.  While  it  is  un- 
doubtedly true  that  each  man  must  be  left  to 
his  own  individual  conscience  as  to  the  precise 
method  of  keeping  the  day,  a  general  statement 
of  the  Lord's  design  in  sanctifying  it,  as  that  de- 
sign appears  in  the  Bible  history  of  the  institu- 
tion, is  justly  demanded  by  every  one  who  is 
required  to  observe  it.  Furthermore,  a  fair  ex- 
position of  the  nature  of  the  true  Sabbath  wiU 

(27) 


254    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sabbath. 

furnish  us  with  additional  reasons  for  believing 
that  the  obligation  to  observe  it  is  universal  and 
perpetual.  Nothing  is  better  calculated  to  con- 
vince one  of  its  necessity  and  reasonableness 
than  a  careful  study  of  what  is  taught  in  Scrip- 
ture concerning  its  purpose  and  character.  False 
doctrine  as  to  what  the  Sabbath  was  designed  to 
be  has  been  a  potent  cause  of  its  desecration. 
If  the  law  defining  it  is  made  too  strict,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  Pharisees  and  of  the  Puritans, 
men  revolt  against  it  as  unnatural  and  injurious ; 
if  it  is  made  too  lax,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Papists, 
its  sanctity  is  wholly  destroyed.  A  clear  expo- 
sition of  what  the  inspired  writers  mean  by  a 
Sabbath  is,  therefore,  essential  to  the  enforcement 
of  the  obligation.  We  hope  that  the  discussion 
of  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  and  of  that  Sabbath  as 
modified  by  the  gospel,  which  we  propose  to  un- 
dertake in  this  and  the  following  chapter,  will 
remove  any  remaining  doubt  in  the  mind  of  the 
reader  respecting  the  command  to  observe  it  as 
both  reasonable  in  its  nature  and  benevolent  in 
its  purpose.  Let  us  first  give  our  attention  to 
the  Jewish  Sabbath. 

As  we  "search  the  Scriptures"  of  the  Old 
Testament  for  light  on  this  subject,  w^e  are 
strongly  impressed  with  the  vast  importance 
which    they    give    to    this    institution.      It    is 

(28) 


The  Jewish  Sahbath.  255 

spoken  of  with  all  possible  emphasis  by  legis- 
lators and  prophets.  The  necessity  of  observ- 
ing it  is  made  very  prominent  in  the  minds  of 
the  people.  "It  was  re-enacted  in  the  fourth 
commandment,  which  gave  it  a  rank  above  that 
of  an  ordinary  law,  making  it  one  of  the  signs 
of  the  covenant.  As  such  it  remained,  together 
with  the  passover,  the  two  forming  the  most 
solemn  and  distinctive  features  of  the  Hebrew 
religious  life.  Its  neglect  or  profanation  ranked 
foremost  among  national  sins;  the  renewed  ob- 
servance of  it  was  sure  to  accompany  national 
reformation."*  This  importance  is  indicated  in 
a  variety  of  ways :  (1)  By  the  awful  manifesta- 
tion of  the  divine  power  and  glory  which  accom- 
panied the  promulgation  of  the  law  on  Sinai. 
These  were  designed  to  impress  the  people  with 
the  importance  of  the  moral  law.  They  could 
but  feel  that  a  law  the  giving  of  which  was 
accompanied  by  these  miraculous  displays  was 
invested  with  a  peculiar  sanctity.  It  is  true 
that  this  affected  the  ten  commandments  as  a 
whole;  but  the  command  to  keep  the  Sabbath 
had  so  prominent  a  place  among  them  that  it 
would  naturally  come  in  for  a  large  share  of  the 


*  Francis  Gardner  :  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary,  p.  2758,  article 
Sabbath." 

(29) 


256    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

consideration  due  to  them  all.  With  a  single 
exception  it  is  the  longest  of  the  commandments. 
It  is  more  minute  in  its  directions  than  any  other. 
It  was  inevitable  that  as  the  Hebrews  thought 
of  that  summary  of  God's  law  which  he  had 
given  in  circumstances  of  so  great  solemnity, 
they  would  attach  peculiar  importance  to  the 
fourth  commandment. 

(2)  By  the  form  in  which  the  command  to 
observe  it  was  given.  We  have  already  noticed 
its  minuteness  and  length  as  bringing  it  into  con- 
trast with  the  others.  It  was  also  distinguished 
from  the  rest  by  being  affirmative  in  its  form; 
all  the  others  are  negative.  They  are  simple 
prohibitions ;  this  requires  positive  duties.  Of 
course,  something  more  than  mere  abstinence 
from  evil  is  implied  in  the  others,  but  they  are 
negative  in  form.  Both  the  precepts  of  the 
fourth  commandment  require  the  doing  of  some- 
thing :  "  Remember  the  sabbath  day,  to  keep  it 
holy."  At  once  this  starts  the  question  wJii/  is 
this  required  and  hotv  is  it  to  be  done ;  and  thus 
men  are  set  to  thinking  of  their  religious  inter- 
ests. "  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor,  and  do  all 
thy  work."  Here  the  duty  of  industry  is  en- 
joined in  the  positive  form.  That  they  may 
know  how  to  appreciate  the   djiy  of  rest,  they 

must  work  on  the  other  six  days.     A  command 
(30) 


The  Jewish  Sabbath.  257 

so  directly  and  positively  regulative  of  the  whole 
life  could  not  fail  to  impress  them  with  its  im- 
portance. 

(3)  By  the  events  with  which  the  command 
was  associated.  The  first  and  greatest  of  these 
was  the  creation  of  the  world  and  the  rest  of 
God  which  followed  it.  The  origin  of  the  world 
has  always  had  a  profound  interest  for  thought- 
ful men.  An  institution  which  was  a  perpetual 
memorial  of  the  fact  that  the  God  of  their  fathers 
created  it  would  naturally  have  a  large  place  in 
the  minds  of  the  Hebrew  people.  And  then, 
that  rest  of  God,  that  mysterious  cessation  from 
work  while  the  divine  energy  was  as  active  as 
ever, — what  significance  would  they  attach  to 
that !  They  could  not  understand  it ;  no  man 
has  quite  understood  it;  but  its  very  mystery 
would  impress  them  with  a  sense  of  awe.  That 
the  life  of  man  should  in  some  w^ay  be  patterned 
after  the  life  of  God  in  the  creation  would  give 
them  a  sense  of  nearness  to  him.  More  than 
any  other  one  thing  it  would  make  them  feel 
that  they  were  his  people. 

The  other  event  of  importance  to  the  Hebrew 
mind,  with  which  the  Sabbath  was  associated, 
was  their  deliverance  from  Egyptian  bondage. 
This  w^as  the  greatest  event  in  their  national  his- 
tory. From  a  throng  of  oppressed  and  degraded 
17  (31) 


258    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

slaves  it  made  them  into  a  free  nation,  inspired 
with  the  hope  that  their  glory  should  fill  the 
whole  earth.  It  had  nearly  the  sjime  place  in 
their  minds  that  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence and  the  struggle  to  maintain  it  have  in 
the  minds  of  the  American  people.  The  main 
difference  was  that  it  was  more  their  habit  than 
it  is  ours  to  refer  their  deliverance  directly  to 
the  power  of  God  exercised  in  their  behalf. 
God  commanded  them  to  keep  the  Sabbath  holy 
on  account  of  what  he  had  done  for  them:  "Re- 
member that  thou  wast  a  servant  in  the  land 
of  Egypt,  and  that  the  Lord  thy  God  brought 
thee  out  thence  through  a  mighty  hand  and  by  a 
stretched  out  arm :  therefore  the  Lord  thy  God 
commanded  thee  to  keep  the  sabbath  day."* 
The  Sabbath  thus  became  to  the  Hebrew  people 
a  sort  of  sanctified  Fourth  of  July.  As  a  memo- 
rial of  their  deliverance,  it  was  a  distinctively 
Jewish  institution;  as  a  memorial  of  creation — 
and  it  is  in  this  relation  that  it  appears  in  the 
moral  law — it  is  universal,  having  a  claim  upon 
the  attention  of  all  men. 

(4)  By  the  number  of  times  the  command  to 
keep  the  Sabbath  holy  is  repeated.  In  the  law 
given  by  Moses   it  occurs   not  less  than  eight 


*  Deuteronomy  5:15. 
(32) 


The  Jewish  Sahhath,  259 

times.  No  other  command  except  the  first — 
that  prohibiting  idolatry — is  thus  emphasized. 
Moses  seemed  to  act  on  the  idea  that  with  regard 
to  the  Sabbath  "precept  must  he  upon  precept, 
precept  upon  precept ;  line  upon  line,  line  upon 
line."*  Some  of  these  repetitions  were  very 
formal  and  solemn.  One  of  them  reads,  "And 
the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying.  Speak  thou 
also  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  saying.  Verily 
my  sabbaths  ye  shall  keep ;  for  it  is  a  sign  be- 
tween me  and  you  throughout  your  generations ; 
that  7/e  may  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  that  doth 
sanctify  you.  Ye  shall  keep  the  sabbath  there- 
fore ;  for  it  is  holy  unto  you :  every  one  that 
defileth  it  shall  surely  be  put  to  death  :  for  who- 
soever doeth  ant/  work  therein,  that  soul  shall 
be  cut  off  from  among  his  people.  Six  days 
may  work  be  done ;  but  in  the  seventh  is  the 
sabbath  of  rest,  holy  to  the  Lord :  whosoever 
doeth  any  work  in  the  sabbath  day,  he  shall 
surely  be  put  to  death.  Wherefore  the  children 
of  Israel  shall  keep  the  sabbath,  to  observe  the 
sabbath  throughout  their  generations, /or  a  per- 
petual covenant.  It  is  a  sign  between  me  and 
the  children  of  Israel  for  ever :  for  in  six  days 
the  Lord  made  heaven   and   earth,   and   on  the 


*  Isaiah  28: 10. 

(33) 


260    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

seventh  day  he  rested,  and  was  refreshed."  *  It 
was  not  because  this  command  was  more  likely 
to  be  forgotten  than  the  others  that  it  was  so 
often  repeated ;  it  was  because  the  institution 
was  so  important  and  had  such  a  vital  relation 
to  the  religion  of  the  Hebrews  and  to  their  Avel- 
fare  as  a  nation. 

(5)  By  the  penalty  attached  to  the  violation 
of  the  Sabbath.  In  the  passage  just  quoted  the 
penalty  of  "defiling"  it  was  stated  to  be  death. 
In  another  place  it  is  said,  "whosoever  doeth 
work  therein  shall  be  put  to  death."  f  In  spite 
of  these  explicit  prohibitions,  the  people  and 
even  the  elders  did  not  seem  clearly  to  under- 
stand w^hat  kind  of  work  would  "  defile  "  it.  But 
it  was  not  long  before  an  event  occurred  which 
made  the  matter  perfectly  plain.  It  is  narrated 
in  the  following  words  :  "  And  while  the  children 
of  Israel  were  in  the  wilderness,  they  found  a 
man  that  gathered  sticks  upon  the  sabbath  day. 
And  they  that  found  him  gathering  sticks  brought 
him  unto  Moses  and  Aaron,  and  unto  all  the  con- 
gregation. And  they  put  him  in  ward,  because 
it  was  not  declared  what  should  be  done  to  him. 
And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  The  man  shall  be 
surely  put  to  death :   all  the  congregation  shall 

*  Exodus  31 :  12-17.  f  Ihid.,  35  :  2. 

(34) 


The  Jewish  Sahhath.  261 

stone  him  with  stones  without  the  camp.  And 
all  the  congregation  brought  him  without  the 
camp,  and  stoned  him  with  stones,  and  he  died ; 
as  the  Lord  commanded  Moses."  *  This  strikes 
us  as  a  terrible  penalty  for  such  an  offence.  We 
are  shocked  at  the  apparent  disproportion  be- 
tween the  punishment  and  the  sin.  If  the  Sab- 
bath was  a  blessing  and  a  privilege,  why  not  let 
the  man  who  deprived  himself  of  it  simply  suffer 
the  natural  consequences  ?  But  when  we  look  a 
little  more  carefully  into  the  nature  of  the  case, 
the  punishment  does  not  seem  so  harsh  or  severe. 
God  w^as  educating  his  people,  and  through  them 
the  world.  Here  was  an  institution  which  w^as 
not  only  vitally  related  to  their  welfare,  but 
which  would  bear  an  important  part  in  the  glo- 
rious work  of  redeeming  the  whole  race.  The 
law  establishing  it  had  just  been  re-enacted  with 
a  degree  of  solemnity  calculated  to  make  them 
all  feel  that  it  must  be  obeyed.  To  gather  a  few 
sticks  upon  a  holy  day  was  in  itself  a  small  mat- 
ter; but  to  perform  an  act  which,  if  allowed  to 
pass  unpunished,  would  tend  to  destroy  an  insti- 
tution like  the  Sabbath,  was  quite  another  thing. 
If  a  company  of  soldiers  were  storming  a  fort- 
ress, and  if,  just  at  the  critical  moment,  the  com- 

*  Numbers  15:32-36. 

(35) 


262    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahbath, 

manding  officer  should  see  that  one  of  the  men 
was  about  to  perform  an  act  of  disobedience  that 
would  throw  the  whole  line  into  confusion,  and 
about  which  there  could  be  no  mistake,  would  he 
not  be  justifiable  in  shooting  the  insubordinate 
or  cowardly  man  on  the  spot?  In  so  doing  he 
might  save  the  lives  of  many  others  and  win  for 
his  country  an  important  victory.  Well,  the  case 
was  somewhat  like  this  in  the  early  history  of 
the  Sabbath.  They  were  at  the  critical  point  of 
determining  whether  God  should  have  a  people 
in  the  world.  Far  more  than  we  may  think, 
the  result  depended  upon  the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath.  The  institution  could  not  be  destroyed 
without  defeating  God's  purposes  and  robbing  the 
world  of  countless  and  immeasurable  blessings. 
It  was  necessary,  therefore,  that  an  open  infrac- 
tion of  the  law  should  be  severely  punished.  In 
no  other  way  could  the  transcendent  importance 
of  the  institution  be  impressed  upon  the  minds 
of  the  chosen  people.  No  injustice  was  done  to 
the  transgressor,  for  he  had  been  fairly  warned ; 
but  he  might  have  obtained  mercy  had  it  not 
been  for  the  necessity  of  impressing  the  people 
with  the  importance  of  the  Sabbath.  His  act 
was  calculated  to  destroy  that  which  God,  in 
his  infinite  wisdom,  had  determined  to  maintain. 
How  could  he  maintain  it  if,  at  the  very  outset, 

(36) 


The  Jewish  Sahhath.  263 

one  who  had  violated  its  sanctity  was  allowed  to 
go  unpunished  ? 

(6)  By  the  prominence  which  is  given  to  it,  in 
the  reproof  and  instruction  of  the  reformers  and 
prophets  of  Israel.  We  have  already  noticed 
this  in  showing  that  the  fourth  commandment  is 
a  part  of  the  moral  law ;  but  we  may  consider  it 
from  another  point  of  view.  In  spite  of  the  sol- 
emn emphasis  placed  upon  this  command,  it  was 
not  always  obeyed.  Just  in  the  proportion 
that  the  worship  of  Jehovah  declined  and  idol- 
atry took  its  place,  the  Sabbath  was  desecrated. 
In  the  two  or  three  troubled  centuries  that  fol- 
lowed the  reign  of  Solomon  and  the  dismember- 
ment of  the  empire,  the  Sabbath  w^as  little  re- 
garded. In  the  time  of  Amos  the  people,  greedy 
of  gain,  came  to  look  upon  its  observance  as  a 
burden.  They  are  represented  by  that  prophet 
as  saying,  "  When  will  the  new  moon  be  gone, 
that  we  may  sell  corn  ?  and  the  sabbath,  that 
we  may  set  forth  wheat,  making  the  ephah  small, 
and  the  shekel  great,  and  falsifying  the  balances 
by  deceit?"*  Isaiah  frequently  denounces  theh* 
formal  and  heartless  observance  of  the  Sabbath, 
or  their  entire  disregard  of  it.  The  Lord  spoke 
through  him  saying,  "  Bring  no  move  vain  obla- 

*  Amos  8  :  5. 

(37) 


264    Nature  and  Lnportance  of  the  Sabbath. 

tions ;  incense  is  an  abomination  unto  me ;  the 
new  moons  and  sabbaths,  the  calling  of  assem- 
blies, I  cannot  away  with ;  it  is  iniquity,  even 
the  solemn  meeting."  '''  Read  again  the  glorious 
promises  f  which  are  made  through  him  to  those 
who  keep  the  Sabbath,  and  learn  how  important 
it  was  in  the  mind  of  this  greatest  of  the  proph- 
ets. In  the  time  of  Jeremiah  it  had  become  cus- 
tomary to  transport  merchandise  on  the  Sabbath, 
and  for  this  it  is  threatened  that  the  judgments 
of  God  shall  fall  upon  Israel. J  These  prophecies 
were  speedily  fulfilled  in  the  Babylonish  captiv- 
ity of  seventy  years.  It  was  distinctly  under- 
stood that  this  terrible  calamity  was  brought 
upon  them  by  their  sins,  among  which  the  viola- 
tion of  the  Sabbath  was  prominent.  Ezekiel, 
who  lived  in  the  time  of  the  captivity,  explains 
not  only  past§  but  also  present  judgments  by 
referring  to  this  profanation.  The  Lord  says 
through  him,  "  Her  priests  have  violated  my 
law,  and  have  profaned  mine  holy  things  :  they 
have  put  no  difference  between  the  holy  and 
profane,  neither  have  they  showed  difference  be- 
tween the  unclean  and  the  clean,  and  have  hid 
their  eyes  from  my  sabbaths,  and  I  am  profaned 


*  Isaiah  1:13.  %  Jeremiah  17  :  19-25. 

t  Ibid.,  56  : 1-7  ;  58  :  13,  14.         I  Ezekiel  20  :  12-24. 
(38) 


The  Jewish  Sahhath.  265 

among  them.  .  .  .  Therefore  have  I  poured 
out  mine  indignation  upon  them ;  I  have  con- 
sumed them  with  the  fire  of  my  wrath :  their 
own  way  have  I  recompensed  upon  their  heads, 
saith  the  Lord  God."*  With  the  conviction 
strong  in  their  minds  that  this  was  the  origin 
of  their  humiliation  and  sufferings,  it  was  nat- 
ural that,  on  their  return  from  the  captivity, 
they  should  take  all  possible  pains  to  observe 
the  Sabbath  and  to  secure  its  observance  on  the 
part  of  the  people.  The  warning  and  denuncia- 
tion of  the  prophets  had  not  been  in  vain.  When 
Nehemiah  became  governor  of  Judea,  he  found 
that  the  Jews  who  had  remained  at  home  had 
been  corrupted  by  their  heathen  neighbors,  and 
that  trading  on  the  Sabbath  was  a  common  prac- 
tice. This  abuse -he  determined  to  reform.  '^In 
those  days  saw  I  in  Judah  some  treading  wine- 
presses on  the  sabbath,  and  bringing  in  sheaves, 
and  lading  asses ;  as  also  wine,  grapes,  and  figs, 
and  all  inanner  of  burdens,  which  they  brought 
into  Jerusalem  on  the  sabbath  day :  and  I  tes- 
tified against  them  in  the  day  wherein  they  sold 
victuals.  There  dwelt  men  of  Tyre  also  therein, 
which  brought  fish,  and  all  manner  of  ware,  and 
sold  on  the  sabbath  unto  the  children  of  Judah, 


Ezekiel  22  :  26,  31. 

(39) 


2G6    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath, 

and  in  Jerusalem.  Then  I  contended  with  the 
nobles  of  Judah,  and  said  unto  them,  What  evil 
thing  is  this  that  ye  do,  and  profane  the  sabbath 
day  ?  Did  not  your  fathers  thus,  and  did  not 
our  God  bring  all  this  e^dl  upon  us,  and  upon 
this  city?  yet  ye  bring  more  wrath  upon  Israel 
by  profaning  the  sabbath.  And  it  came  to  pass, 
that  when  the  gates  of  Jerusalem  began  to  be 
dark  before  the  sabbath,  I  commanded  that  the 
gates  should  be  shut,  and  charged  that  they 
should  not  be  opened  till  after  the  sabbath :  and 
some  of  my  servants  set  I  at  the  gates,  that 
there  should  no  burden  be  brought  in  on  the 
sabbath  day.  So  the  merchants  and  sellers  of 
mU  kind  of  ware  lodged  without  Jerusalem  once 
or  twice.  Then  I  testified  against  them,  and 
said  unto  them,  Why  lodge  ye  about  the  wall? 
if  ye  do  so  again,  I  will  lay  hands  on  you. 
From  that  time  forth  came  they  no  more  on 
the  sabbath.  And  I  commanded  the  Levites 
that  they  should  cleanse  themselves,  and  that 
they  should  come  and  keep  the  gates,  to  sanc- 
tify the  sabbath  day."*  Previously,  in  the 
preaching  of  the  Levites,  which  was  a  part  of 
the  great  reformative  and  reconstructive  move- 
ment  under   Nehemiah,  the    Sabbath  had  been 

*Nehemiah  13:15-22. 
(40) 


The  Jewish  Sahhath.  267 

spoken  of  almost  as  though  the  keeping  of  it 
was  the  first  religious  duty  *  From  his  time 
we  hear  no  more  of  violations  of  it  by  the 
Hebrews.  The  preaching  of  the  prophets  and 
the  actions  of  Nehemiah  gave  the  Sabbath  such 
prominence  in  their  minds  that  thereafter  the 
tendency  was  in  the  direction  of  a  too  strict 
observance  of  it.  They  did  not  make  it  too  im- 
portant, but  they  misinterpreted  much  of  what 
had  been  said  on  the  subject,  and  the  conse- 
quence was  that  the  Sabbath  came  to  be  loaded 
with  abuses.  But  they  never  again  despised  it. 
They  were  cured  once  for  all  of  that  sin. 

In  these  ways  the  importance  of  the  Sabbath 
was  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  the  Hebrews. 
The  "holy  men  of  old"  who  "spake  as  they 
were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost"  gave  the  people 
they  taught,  to  understand  that  the  law  of  the 
Sabbath  must  not  be  trifled  with — that  here  was 
an  institution  which  must  be  sustained.  The 
dignity  and  worth  which  it  thus  acquired  in  their 
estimation  was  not  of  human  origin,  but  had  a 
divine  source.  If  we  can  ascertain  whi/  it  was 
made  so  important,  it  will  help  us  to  decide 
whether  or  not  it  has  claims  upon  us  which  we 
are  bound  to  regard. 

*  Nehemiah  9  :  14. 

(41) 


268    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sabbath. 

As  a  day  of  rest  the  Sabbath  was  a  great  priv- 
ilege to  the  Hebrews.  They  had  been  slaves  in 
Egypt,  and  had  known  what  it  was  to  suffer 
from  the  degrading  influence  of  unremitting  toil. 
They  had  felt  the  sting  of  the  taskmaster's  lash, 
and  had  labored  hard  without  reaping  the  profits 
of  their  labor.  "  The  seventh  day  is  the  sab- 
bath of  the  Lord  thy  God :  in  it  thou  shalt  not 
do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daugh- 
ter, nor  thy  manservant,  nor  thy  maidservant, 
nor  thine  ox,  nor  thine  ass,  nor  any  of  thy  cattle, 
nor  thy  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates;  that 
thy  manservant  and  thy  maidservant  may  rest 
as  well  as  thou.  And  remember  that  thou  wast 
a  servant  in  the  land  of  Egypt."*  They  had 
enjoyed  no  rest-days  in  Egypt,  and  by  the  insti- 
tution of  the  Sabbath  they  were  constantly  re- 
minded of  the  difference  between  their  condition 
before  God  stretched  out  his  arm  to  save  them  and 
their  present  condition.  Looking  at  the  matter 
in  this  light,  they  could  hardly  fail  to  regard  the 
liberty  to  stop  work  and  rest  one  day  in  seven 
as  a  blessed  privilege.  In  this  w^ay  God  impressed 
upon  them  the  beneficence  of  the  Sabbath. 

This  day  of  rest  had  also  a  typical  significance. 
It  looked  forward  as  well  as  backward.  It  not 
only  reminded  them  of  their  former  slavery  and 

*  Deuteronomy  5  :  14,  15. 
(42) 


The  Jewish  Sahhath.  269 

their  present  liberty,  but  also  prophesied  of  a 
rest  higher,  nobler  and  more  perfect  than  it 
brought.  While  they  were  in  the  wilderness, 
it  foreshadowed  the  rest  from  wandering  and 
danger  which  they  would  enjoy  in  the  promised 
land.  It  stood  always  as  a  symbol  of  the  rest 
of  the  soul  in  God,  which  could  be  perfected 
only  as  they  passed  one  by  one  into  that  "bet- 
ter country,"  the  "heavenly,"  into  which  Abra- 
ham and  Isaac  and  Jacob  had  gone.  It  spoke 
of  a  time  when  they,  as  a  people,  would  have 
rest  from  the  endless  round  of  sacrifices  and 
offerings,  from  wearying  and  fruitless  efforts  to 
obey  the  law,  from  doleful  experiences  of  trans- 
gression and  consequent  judgments ;  of  a  time 
when  they  should  have  peace  through  "the 
Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
w^orld,"  and  when,  in  "the  glorious  liberty  of 
the  children  of  God,"  they  would  obey  gladly 
the  law  written  "in  fleshly  tables  of  the  heart." 
The  rest  of  the  Sabbath  and  the  rest  of  the 
promised  land  were  not  perfect ;  "  For  if  Jesus 
[Joshua]  had  given  them  rest,  then  would  he 
not  afterward  have  spoken  of  another  day. 
There  remaineth  therefore  a  rest" — a  sabbatiz- 
ing — "  to  the  people   of  God."  *     It  spoke  also 


*  Hebrews  4  :  8,  9. 

(43) 


270    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

of  the  perfect  rest  beyond  the  grave,  when  all 
their  toils  and  struggles  and  difficulties  would 
be  over,  and  when  they  would  know  in  its  full- 
ness the  peace  of  God.  It  is  not  probable  that 
many  of  them  attached  this  meaning  to  the 
weekly  day  of  rest.  They  were  children  in  the 
faith,  and  saw  but  dimly  the  great  spiritual  ver- 
ities which  the  forms  and  ceremonies  of  their 
religion  symbolized.  But  some  of  them  "  died 
in  faith,  not  having  received  the  promises, 
but  having  seen  them  afar  off,  and  were  per- 
suaded of  them,  and  embraced  them,  and  con- 
fessed that  they  were  strangers  and  pilgrims 
on  the  earth."  *  The  Sabbath  was  designed  to 
teach  them  the  blessed  truth  that  the  faithful 
should  not  finally  fail  of  entering  into  perfect 
rest.  Thus,  as  a  day  of  rest  it  was  both  a  priv- 
ilege and  a  promise  of  better  things  to  come. 

The  Sabbath  was  very  important  in  its  rela- 
tion to  the  religious  life  of  the  Hebrews.  They 
were  the  chosen  people  of  God,  and  as  such  were 
to  keep  alive  his  worship.  They  were  exposed 
on  every  hand  to  the  influence  of  heathenism. 
In  keeping  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  they  were 
distinguished  from  the  heathen  around  them; 
and  just  in  the  proportion  that  it  was  desecrated 

*  Hebrews  1 1  :  13. 
(44) 


The  Jewish  Sahhath.  271 

did  idolatry  make  inroads  upon  the  worship  of 
Jehovah.      This    connection    was    inevitable,    as 
will  be  seen  from  a  study  of  the  nature  of  the 
antagonism  between  the  Hebrew  religion  and  the 
religions  of  their  heathen  neighbors.    Many  of  the 
latter  worshipped  Baal  and  Astarte.  the  god  and 
goddess  who  were  supposed  to  give  the  increase 
of  the  flocks  and  fruits  of  the  earth.     Being  the 
impersonation  of  those  forces  of  nature  which  are 
operative  for  the  support  of  man — having,  as  was 
supposed,  power  to  produce  a  famine  or  to  give 
plenty — they  were  naturally  the  most  important 
of  the  heathen  deities.     But  the  Hebrews  were 
constantly  reminded  by  the  Sabbath  that  "  God 
created  the  heaven  and  the  earth,"  and  that  he 
reigned  with  sovereign  power  over  all  its  forces. 
The  heathen  were   accustomed  to  look  to  their 
divinities  for  protection  from  danger  and  for  vic- 
tory  over  their   enemies.     The   Sabbath   was    a 
standing  memorial  to  the  Hebrews  of  how  Jeho- 
vah  had    wrought  mightily   in  delivering    them 
from  Egypt— of  how  he  had  brought  them  "  out 
thence  through  a  mighty  hand  and  by  a  stretched 
out  arm."     So  long  as  they  kept  it  holy,  it  was 
an  assurance  that  the   same  power   was   always 
ready  to  be  exercised  in  their  behalf. 

Again,  the   prosperity  of  the  Hebrew  people 
was  conditional  upon  their  obedience  to  the  law 

(45) 


272    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

of  God.  In  keeping  that  law-  they  would  be 
blessed.  If  they  despised  and  disobeyed  it, 
calamity  would  surely  fall  upon  them.  Such 
was  the  announcement  of  Jehovah.  But  how 
were  they  to  know  the  law  from  generation  to 
generation?  There  were  no  printed  books  in 
those  early  days,  and  only  a  few  copies  of  the 
books  of  Moses  would  be  in  existence  at  any 
one  time.  The  people  generally  could  not  be- 
come acquainted  with  it  by  reading.  They  were 
wholly  dependent  upon  oral  instruction.  When 
would  there  be  time  for  it?  When  could  they 
congregate  for  the  purpose  ?  Manifestly  the  nat- 
ural and  proper  time  for  it  was  the  weekly  Sab- 
bath. Thus  we  read,  "  Six  days  shall  work  be 
done :  but  the  seventh  day  is  the  sabbath  of 
rest,  a  holy  convocation."*  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  this  "convocation"  was  not  only  for 
worship  but  also  for  instruction  in  the  law. 
Two  passages  in  Josephus  throw  light  on  this 
question.  He  says,  "  The  seventh  day  we  set 
apart  from  labor ;  it  is  dedicated  to  the  learning 
of  our  customs  and  laws  :  we  think  it  proper  to 
reflect  on  them  as  well  as  on  any  good  thing 
else,  in  order  to  our  avoiding  sin."  f  In  another 
place,   speaking   of   the    superior   excellence    of 


*  Leviticus  23  :  3.  f  "Antiquities,"  b.  xvi.  ch.  2,  sec.  3. 

(46) 


The  Jewish  Sahhath.  273 

Moses  as  a  law-giver  over  the  law-givers  of  other 
nations,  he  says  that  "  Moses  demonstrated  the 
law  to  be  the  best  and  the  most  necessary  in- 
struction of  all  others,  permitting  the  people  to 
leave  off  their  other  employments,  and  to  assem- 
ble together  for  the  hearing  of  the  law  and  learn- 
ing it  exactly ;  and  this  not  once  or  twice,  or  oft- 
ener,  but  every  week ;  which  thing  all  the  other 
legislators  seem  to  have  neglected."  *  Thus  pro- 
vision was  made  for  that  instruction  in  the  law 
which  was  necessary  if  it  was  to  be  obeyed  and 
if  the  blessings  promised  to  obedience  were  to 
be  secured.  In  this  relation  the  Sabbath  was 
essential  to  the  maintenance  of  true  religion  and 
of  national  existence. 

But  it  was  not  used  alone  for  instruction; 
it  was  also  the  regular  day  of  worship.  The 
morning  and  evening  sacrifices  were  doubled  on 
that  day.f  On  that  day  the  shewbread  in  the 
holy  place  was  to  be  changed.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  "holy  convocation"  of  the  Sab- 
bath was  held  as  much  for  worship  as  for  instruc- 
tion. The  question  put  by  the  husband  of  the 
Shunammite  woman  to  his  wife,  concerning  her 
proposed  visit  to  Elisha — "Wherefore  wilt  thou 
go  to  him  to  day  ?  it  is  neither  new  moon,  nor 

*  "Against  Apion,"  b.  ii.  sec.  18. 
t  Numbers  28  :  9.  . 

18  (47) 


274    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

sabbath"* — indicates  that  it  was  the  custom 
of  the  people  to  absemble  on  that  day  with  the 
prophets  and  other  religious  teachers.  Singing 
praises  to  God  must  have  constituted  a  part 
of  the  worship,  for  the  ninety-second  psalm  is 
marked  "A  Psalm  for  the  sabbath  day."  This 
does  not  imply  that  no  other  psalm  was  used 
on  that  day,  but  that  this  was  peculiarly  ap- 
propriate for  it.  A  frequently-recurring  day  on 
which  they  could  gather  for  worship  was  very 
necessary  to  their  religious  development.  They 
were  to  be  distinguished  as  the  worshippers 
of  Jehovah.  Christ  said  it  had  been  written, 
"  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and 
him  only  shalt  thou  serve."  f  This  was  a  sum- 
mary of  many  of  the  commands  of  the  Mosaic 
law.  Man  must  worship  something.  The  in- 
stinct is  strong  within  him  to  stand  in  awe  of  the 
Supreme  and  do  reverence  to  his  name.  This 
tendency  to  worship  is  the  unconscious  testimony 
of  the  soul  to  its  divine  origin.  It  is  this  which 
places  man  above  all  other  earthly  creatures ; 

"  For  what  are  men  better  than  sheep  or  goats, 
That  nourish  a  blind  life  within  the  brain, 
If,  knowing  God,  they  lift  not  hands  of  prayer 
Both  for  themselves  and  those  who  call  them  friend?"  J 

*  2  Kings  4  :  23.  %  Tennyson  :  "  Morte  d' Arthur." 

t  Matthew  4  :  10. 
(48) 


The  Jewish  Sabbath.  275 

It  is  certain  that  frequent  days  of  worship  would 
be  divinely  appointed  for  a  people  through  whom 
the  religious  education  of  the  world  was  to  be 
largely  accomplished.  It  is  scarcely  conceiv- 
able that  fullest  provision  would  not  be  made 
for  the  development  of  the  spirit  of  reverence 
and  adoration,  since  this  underlies  all  religion 
and  all  religious  possibilities.  How  highly  de- 
veloped this  spirit  of  devotion  was  among  the 
Hebrews  is  shown  by  the  Psalms — those  mar- 
vellous hymns  which  voice  the  religious  needs 
and  aspirations  of  the  human  soul  as  no  other 
productions  have  done,  and  which  sing  the 
praises  of  God  in  strains  so  lofty  and  power- 
ful that  the  world  will  never  outgrow  them. 

It  is  clear  that  the  Sabbath  was  made  import- 
ant in  the  minds  of  the  Hebrews  for  good  and 
sufficient  reasons.  It  was  so  great  a  blessing 
to  them  as  a  day  of  rest,  it  taught  so  many 
great  truths,  and  it  was  so  vitally  connected 
with  their  religious  system,  that  we  should 
expect  all  the  means  to  be  employed  by  which 
its  careful  observance  could  be  secured.  Those 
means  were  the  solemn  circumstances  in  which 
the  command  to  keep  it  holy  was  uttered,  the 
extended  and  particularizing  form  in  which  the 
command  was  given,  the  greatness  of  the  events 
with  which  the  Sabbath  was  associated,  the  fre- 

(49) 


276    Nature  and  Bnportance  of  the  SahJ)ath. 

quency  with  which  the  command  was  repeated, 
the  death  penalty  attached  to  its  violation,  and 
the  prominence  given  to  it  in  the  warnings  and 
promises  addressed  to  the  Hebrew  people. 

This  discussion  of  its  importance  in  the  He- 
brew polity  throws  light  on  the  nature  of  the 
Sabbath  as  observed  by  them.  The  day  was 
not  one  of  idleness.  It  did  not  require  the  sus- 
pension of  all  activity,  as  the  rabbis  afterward 
taught.  The  original  terms  of  the  command  to 
keep  it  holy  show  that  the  kinds  of  work  for- 
bidden were  servile  work  and  secular  business. 
Nothing  of  a  worldly  or  purely  selfish  nature 
was  permitted.  ''  If  thou  turn  away  thy  foot 
from  the  sabbath,  from  doing  thy  pleasure  on 
my  holy  day;  and  call  the  sabbath  a  delight, 
the  holy  of  the  Lord,  honorable ;  and  shalt  honor 
him,  not  doing  thine  own  ways,  nor  finding  thine 
own  pleasure,  nor  speaking  thine  own  words : 
then  shalt  thou  delight  thyself  in  the  Lord ;  and 
I  will  cause  thee  to  ride  upon  the  high  places  of 
the  earth,  and  feed  thee  with  the  heritage  of 
Jacob  thy  father:  for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord 
hath  spoken  it.'''  *  Words  could  not  set  forth 
more  clearly  the  fact  that  the  day  was  the 
Lord's,  and  was  not  to  be  used  for  the  earthly 


(50) 


The  Jewish  SahhatL  277 

pleasure    or   profit   of  man.     Notice    how   they 
were  not  to  find  their  own  pleasure,  and  yet  to 
call    the    Sabbath   a    delight;    "pleasure"   here 
meaning  the  gratification  of  carnal  and  worldly 
desires.      There   are   not  many  specific  prohibi- 
tions.     They    were    forbidden   to    have    fires   in 
their  houses   on  the   Sabbath;*  but  as  fires,  in 
that  climate,  were  used   almost  exclusively  for 
cooking,  this  prohibition  was  plainly  designed  to 
secure  rest  for  the  women  and  domestic  servants. 
In  one  case  they  were  forbidden  to  go  without 
the   camp;f   but   this    was   in   connection  with 
gathering  manna,  and  was  not,  probably,  meant 
to  be   a  permanent  regulation.     With  these  ex- 
ceptions   the  prohibitions   were    simply  general, 
and  included  tvork,  business  and  carnal  pleasure. 
But  abstinence  from  labor  did  not  mean  inaction. 
Whatever  work   was    necessary  to   the   conduct 
of  worship  and  to  the  offering  of  sacrifices  was 
allowable. J     The  mind  was  to  be  diligently  em- 
ployed  in   studying    the    law   of  God,   and   the 
heart  was   to  be   alive   in  his   worship.     It  was 
not  a  day   of  restraint  and  gloom.     Though  it 
was  a  holy  day,  it  was  full  of  joy  and  gladness. 
The  true  Hebrew  never  thought  it  necessary  to 


*  Exodus  35  :  3.  j  Matthew  12  :  5. 

t  Ibid.,  16  :  29 

(51) 


278    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath, 

be  gloomy  in  order  to  be  religious.  With  him 
song  and  dance  and  feast  could  all  be  conse- 
crated to  the  service  of  the  Holy  One.  They 
were  taught  to  "be  glad  in  the  Lord."  A  re- 
markable illustration  of  this  is  found  in  the  book 
of  Nehemiah.  When  the  people  were  taught  out 
of  the  law  and  shown  their  sins,  they  were  filled 
with  sorrow.  Then  Nehemiah  and  Ezra  and  the  Le- 
vites  "  said  unto  all  the  people,  This  day  is  holy 
unto  the  Lord  your  God ;  mourn  not,  nor  weep. 
For  all  the  people  wept,  when  they  heard  the 
words  of  the  law.  Then  he  said  unto  them.  Go 
3^our  way,  eat  the  fat,  and  drink  the  sweet,  and 
send  portions  unto  them  for  whom  nothing  is 
prepared :  for  this  day  is  holy  unto  our  Lord : 
neither  be  ye  sorry ;  for  the  joy  of  the  Lord  is 
your  strength.  So  the  Levites  stilled  all  the 
people,  saying,  Hold  your  peace,  for  the  day  is 
holy ;  neither  be  ye  grieved.  And  all  the  people 
went  their  way  to  eat,  and  to  drink,  and  to  send 
portions,  and  to  make  great  mirth,  because  they 
had  understood  the  words  that  were  declared 
unto  them."  *  There  is  no  evidence  that  this 
was  on  the  Sabbath  day ;  on  the  contrary,  it  is 
quite  clear  that  it  was  not.  The  feast  they  were 
directed  to  hold  was    evidently  the    "feast  of 

*  Nehemiah  8  :  9-12. 
(52) 


The  Jewish  Sabbath.  279 

trumpets,"  *  which  occurred  on  the  first  day  of 
the  seventh  month,  and  which  was  a  specially 
joyful  occasion.  Still  the  day  is  three  times 
declared  to  be  "holy  unto  the  Lord";  and  we 
quote  the  passage  to  show  that  the  Hebrews  did 
not  regard  the  rejoicing  as  inconsistent  with  the 
proper  observance  of  the  day.  It  may  be  said 
that  their  religion  was  fairly  expressed  in  the 
words  "  The  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength." 
This  has  led  to  a  misapprehension  of  their  prac- 
tice in  keeping  the  Sabbath.  Our  tendency  to 
eliminate  rejoicing  from  our  religious  exercises, 
and  to  feel  that  whatever  is  mirthful  must  be 
irreligious,  makes  it  hard  to  understand  how 
David  could  dance  "before  the  Lord,"f  how  we 
can  properly  be  exhorted  to  "praise  his  name 
in  the  dance,"  %  and  these  people  could  "  make 
great  mirth"  on  a  day  "holy  unto  the  Lord." 
The  explanation  is  simple.  They  were  accus- 
tomed to  give  expression  in  bodily  signs  to  their 
religious  joy;  hence  a  thing  was  not  irreligious 
because  it  was  mirthful.  Their  Sabbath  was 
never  a  holiday  in  our  sense  of  the  term.  They 
did  nothing  on  it  inconsistent  with  a  strictly 
religious    observance.      They   never   devoted    it 


*  Leviticus  23  :  24,  25. 
t  2  Samuel  6  ;  14. 

t  Psalm  149  :  3. 

280    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

to  mere  amusement.  That  such  a  thing  would 
have  been  considered  a  sin  is  plain  from  the  pas- 
sage just  quoted  from  Isaiah.  If  they  visited  on 
that  day,  it  was  in  order  that  they  might  gather 
with  friends  for  religious  conversation.  If  they 
made  "  feasts,"  they  were  like  the  agapce  or  love 
feasts  of  the  early  Christians,  and  were  made 
primarily  for  the  purpose  of  giving  '^portions 
unto  them  for  whom  nothing"  was  "prepared." 
They  were  never  the  kind  of  entertainment 
which  we  understand  by  the  word  feast.  That 
is  plain  from  the  prohibition  of  fires  in  the 
houses,  and  from  the  strict  injunction  to  give 
their  servants  rest.  With  their  views  of  the 
nature  of  religion,  it  was  possible  to  make  the 
day  joyful  without  secularizing  it. 

It  follows  that  they  never  felt  the  day  to  be  a 
burden,  except  when  all  religious  duties  were 
burdensome  to  them.  When  they  forgot  God, 
when  they  fell  into  idolatry,  when  they  became 
greedy  of  gain  and  were  not  willing  to  lose  their 
profits  or  the  labor  of  servants  one  day  in  seven, 
when  carnal  pleasure  was  better  to  them  than 
the  joys  of  religion, — when,  in  a  word,  they 
walked  in  the  ways  of  their  own  depraved 
hearts, — then  the  keeping  of  the  Sabbath  was 
felt  to  be  intolerable  bondage.  It  was  never 
meant  to  be  a  burden.  Received  in  the  right 
(54) 


The  Jewish  Sahhath.  281 

spirit  and  rightly  observed,  it  was  a  blessing 
and  a  privilege.  It  was  only  after  its  perver- 
sion, after  the  rabbis  had  smothered  the  true 
Sabbath  under  a  great  heap  of  abuses,  that  it 
became  a  burden,  "heavy  and  grievous  to  be 
borne."  Kept  in  its  original  perfection,  it  can 
never  be  anything  but  a  privilege  to  men  who 
love  God  and  enjoy  the  exercises  of  religion. 

It  may  be  asked,  "  If  the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath  was  not  a  burden  to  the  Hebrews,  why 
was  it  fenced  about  with  commands  and  prohibi- 
tions and  penalties   and  promises   and  threaten- 
mgs  ?     If  it  was  only  a  blessing  and  was  regard- 
ed as  a  privilege,  why  was  it  not  enough  simply 
to  suggest  it  to  them  and  leave  them  to  enjoy 
it  T     How  little  does  one  know  of  human  nature 
who  could  ask  that  question !     Has  it  not  always 
been  true  that  men  have  rejected  and  abused  the 
choicest  blessings  which  God  offers  them  ?     The 
gift  of  his  Son  was  the  greatest  blessing  he  could 
bestow  upon  the  world;   and  yet  men  despised 
and  rejected  him.     Salvation  through  Christ  far 
transcends  in  value  anything  else  men  are  capa- 
ble of  receiving ;  and  yet,  when  it  is  urged  upon 
them   with  all  the   powers   of  persuasion  which 
the  Christian  teacher  and  preacher  can  use,  the 
majority  despise  it.     Christianity  as   taught  by 
its    divine    Founder    and   the    inspired   apostles 

(55) 


282    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

seems  simple  enough,  and  its  gospel  comes  laden 
with  choicest  gifts  for  a  world  that  sorely  needs 
them ;  and  yet  it  has  sometimes  been  so  pervert- 
ed as  to  be  a  curse  to  society,  and  deeds  of  in- 
fernal wickedness  have  been  committed  in  the 
name  of  heaven's  Prince.  Nothing,  however 
great  a  blessing  it  may  be,  can  be  safely  com- 
mitted to  the  keeping  of  men  without  placing 
safeguards  around  it  in  the  shape  of  strict  reg- 
ulations concerning  its  proper  use.  In  the  early 
ages  this  was  even  more  true  than  now ;  hence 
the  observance  of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  was  both 
a  legal  requirement  and  a  great  privilege.  All 
that  made  it  a  blessing  has  been  preserved  in  the 
Lord's  day,  or  the  Christian  Sabbath.  We  ought 
by  this  time  to  be  able  to  appreciate  the  benef- 
icent character  of  the  institution.  After  these 
centuries  of  education,  all  men  in  Christian  lands 
ought  to  see  that  in  despising  and  desecrating 
the  Sabbath  they  are  trampling  on  one  of  heav- 
en's choicest  gifts.  But  it  is  sadly  true  that 
many  must  still  be  constrained  to  regard  it,  if 
they  observe  it  at  all,  by  the  force  of  law,  by 
fear  of  the  threatened  penalties  or  by  appeals  to 
conscience.  We  have  seen  the  importance  of 
the  Jewish  Sabbath  to  the  Jewish  people.  The 
Lord's  day  certainly  cannot  be  less  to  us :  we 
hope  to  show  that  it  is  far  more.     In  this,  as  in 

(56) 


The  Jewish  Sahhath.  283 

other  things,  the  fullness  of  blessing  was  reserved 
for  us  who  have  seen  the  coming  of  Christ's  king- 
dom. ''  For  if  that  which  is  done  away  ivas  glo- 
rious, much  more  that  which  remaineth  is  glori- 
ous."* If  "he  that  despised  Moses'  law  died 
without  mercy  under  two  or  three  witnesses  :  of 
how  much  sorer  punishment,  suppose  ye,  shall 
he  be  thought  worthy  who  hath  .  .  .  done  de- 
spite unto  the  Spirit  of  grace  ?"  f  The  blackest 
and  most  damnable  of  sins  is  to  trample  upon 
the  offerings  of  divine  goodness.  Have  we  not 
learned  enough  already  to  convince  us  that  the 
Sabbath  is  among  these  gifts  of  love  ? 

*2  Corinthians  3;  11. 
t  Hebrews  10:  28,  29. 


(57) 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


THE    lord's    day. 


The  Sundays  of  man's  life, 
Threaded  together  on  time's  string, 

Make  bracelets  to  adorn  the  wife 
Of  the  eternal,  glorious  King. 

On  Sunday  heaven's  gate  stands  ope ; 
Blessings  are  plentiful  and  rife — 

More  plentiful  than  hope. 

George  Herbert. 

We  have  seen  that  the  reformers,  of  whom 
Nehemiah  was  chief,  and  the  later  prophets  made 
much,  in  their  teaching,  of  a  careful  regard  for 
the  Sabbath.  It  was  an  almost  inevitable  con- 
sequence of  this  that  the  Hebrews  of  subsequent 
times  should  form  strict  rules  concerning  its  ob- 
servance. As  formalism  came  more  and  more  to 
characterize  their  religious  life^  it  was  equally 
certain  that  literal  obedience  of  these  rules  would 
be  regarded  as  essential  to  a  life  of  godliness. 
No  doubt  the  rabbis  exaggerated  the  relative 
importance  of  the  Sabbath  itself.  According  to 
the  Talmud,  "  the  Sabbath  is  in  importance  equal 
to  the  whole  law."  Again,  it  says,  "  He  who 
shall  duly  observe  all  the  rites  and  customs  of 
the  Sabbath  shall  obtain  the  pardon  of  all  his 
(58) 


The  Lord's  Day,  285 

sins,  even  though  he  hath  been  guilty  of  idol- 
atry."    That  such  statements  are  false  and  ridic- 
ulous is  sufficiently  evident.     But  they  were  not 
half  so  mischievous  as  the  endless  prohibitions 
which  the  rabbis  formulated   for  the  regulation 
of  conduct  on  the  Sabbath.     In  every  conceiv- 
able way  they  perverted  the  teaching  of  the  in- 
spired  men  who   had    spoken  in  earlier   times. 
Because    Jeremiah    had    said    that   they   should 
"bring  in  no  burden  through  the  gates  of  this 
city  on  the  sabbath  day,"*  they  made  it  a  sin 
for  the  man  whom  Christ  healed  to  carry  home 
the  light  mattress  on  which  the  Oriental  sleeps.f 
Even  the  plucking  of  a  few  heads  of  wheat  was 
reaping,   and   rubbing    them   in  the    hands    was 
threshing.J     Some   of  their   rules   were  puerile 
and  ridiculous  almost  beyond  description.     One 
might  not  catch  a  flea  on  the  Sabbath,  unless  he 
were  actually  biting,  for  that  would  be  a  kind  of 
hunting.     One  ought  not  to  wear  nailed  shoes, 
for  that  would  be  a  kind  of  burden-bearing.     One 
ought  not  to  walk  on  grass,  for  that  would  be  a 
kind  of  threshing.     If  one  fed  his  chickens,  he 
must  not  let  any  scattered  kernels  lie  upon  the 
ground  to  germinate,  for  that  would  be  a  kind  of 


*  Jeremiah  17:24.  J  Matthew  12  :  2 

t  John  5:10. 


(59) 


286    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sabbath. 

sowing.  From  the  command  *  not  to  go  out  of 
the  camp  on  the  Sabbath,  one  school  of  rabbis 
deduced  the  rule  that  one  must  remain  abso- 
lutely motionless  from  morning  to  night.  An- 
other interpretation  of  this  command  was  that 
one  might  travel  exactly  two  thousand  cubits  on 
that  day.  Long  and  precise  rules  were  given  as 
to  what  kinds  of  knots  might  and  might  not  be 
tied.  It  was  unlawful  to  make  two  letters  ex- 
cept under  certain  carefully-defined  conditions. 
How  much  food  one  might  carry  from  one  place 
to  another  was  settled  by  exact  weights  and 
measurements.  On  Friday  afternoon  one  must 
search  his  pockets  to  see  whether  they  contained 
anything  which  it  would  be  unlawful  to  carry  on 
the  Sabbath.  Some  of  the  modern  disciples  of 
these  teachers  will  not  even  carry  a  handker- 
chief except  within  the  walls  of  a  city,  or  wind 
a  watch,  on  that  day.  Giving  an  emetic  or  set- 
ting a  broken  bone  was  forbidden.f  We  need  not 
go  further  with  our  examination  of  these  rules 
to  see  that  the  men  who  formed  them  had  utterly 
perverted  the  law  of  the  Sabbath,  and  had  no  just 
conception  of  its  purpose.     In  the  time   of  the 

*  Exodus  16:29. 

I  For  fuller  information  on  rabbinical  views  of  the  Sabbath, 
etc.,  see  the  Talmud,  Edersheim's  "Jewish  Social  Life,"  and 
Geikie's  "  Life  of  Christ,"  vol.  ii.  pp.  95-105. 
(60) 


The  Lord's  Day,  287 

Maccabsean  heroes  the  Jews  had  shown  a  grand 
fidelity  to  their  convictions  in  this  matter,  for  we 
are  told  that  on  one  occasion,  when  they  were 
attacked  on  the  Sabbath  by  the  soldiers  of  Pom- 
pey,  they  refused  to  profane  the  day  by  fighting, 
and  died  in  their  tracks.*  "  The  Jewish  sailor 
had  refused,  even  when  threatened  with  death, 
to  touch  the  helm  a  moment  after  the  sun  had 
set  on  Friday,  though  a  storm  was  raging."  But 
the  Pharisees  of  Christ's  time,  while  still  insist- 
ing upon  obedience  to  these  rules,  found  many 
ways  to  elude  them,  and  thus  showed  their  hol- 
low-heartedness  and  hypocrisy. 

In  preparing  the  way  for  the  transformation 
of  the  Jewish  Sabbath  into  the  Lord's  day,  the 
first  thing  Christ  had  to  do  was  to  free  it  of  these 
abuses.  In  order  to  do  this  he  purposely  brought 
on  a  conflict  with  the  Pharisees  concerning  the 
proper  method  of  observing  it.  He  himself  did 
and  allowed  his  disciples  to  do  what  they  thought 
to  be  violations  of  the  Sabbath.  On  at  least  three 
different  occasions  f  he  healed  the  sick,  when  he 
knew  that  his  action  would  subject  him  to  the 
charge  of  Sabbath-breaking.  Although  he  saw 
that  spies  were  watching  them,  he  permitted  his 

*Jo8ephu8:  "Against  Apion,"  bk.  i.  sec.  22;  Apocrypha:  1 
Maccabees  2. 

t  Matthew  12  :  13  ;  Luke  13  ;  11  j  John  5  :  8. 

(61) 


288    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath, 

disciples,  unrebuked,  to  pluck  the  heads  of  wheat. 
His  purpose  must  have  been  to  throw  the  strong- 
est possible  light  upon  that  institution,  revealing 
its  true  nature  and  showing  at  the  same  time  how 
the  rabbis  had  corrupted  it.  So  far  his  work  was 
mainly  restorative.  He  cleared  away  the  rubbish 
that  had  gathered  upon  this  divine  institution. 
The  old  foundation  was  to  remain,  but  the  Jews 
had  built  wrongly  upon  it.  Before  a  new  struct- 
ure could  be  erected  their  monstrous  and  ungainly 
building  must  be  torn  down.  His  kingdom  was  to 
be  one  of  light  and  joy  and  liberty,  and  no  such 
dark  and  repulsive  prison-house  as  the  Jews  had 
made  the  Sabbath  could  be  allowed  within  its 
borders.  So  far  as  the  nature  of  the  Sabbath  is 
defined  in  the  laws  of  Moses  and  revealed  in  the 
early  history  of  the  Jews,  there  was  very  little 
about  it  which  Christ  changed.  Whatever  change 
he  made  was  in  the  direction  of  giving  larger  lib- 
erty to  the  judgment  and  conscience  of  the  indi- 
vidual; and  this  not  by  laying  down  explicit 
directions  for  observing  it,  but  by  doing  or  allow- 
ing things  which  violated  the  rules  of  the  rabbis. 
When  he  told  the  impotent  man  to  take  up  his 
bed  and  walk,  and  permitted  his  disciples  to 
pluck  the  heads  of  wheat,  he  meant  to  teach  that 
it  was  contrary  to  the  nature  of  the  true  Sabbath 
to  formulate  precise  and  minute  rules  for  its  ob- 

(62) 


The  Lord's  Day.  289 

servance.  To  a  certain  extent  it  had  been  a  day 
of  restraint  to  the  Hebrews,  and  this  character- 
istic had  made  it  possible  to  overlay  it  with  such 
rules ;  but  he  who  was  "  Lord  even  of  the  Sab- 
bath day"  taught  that  such  a  course  was  calcu- 
lated to  make  it  a  day  of  bondage — a  burden 
instead  of  a  blessing.  The  law  that  it  was  to  be 
kept  holy  unto  the  Lord  was  still  in  force ;  but 
let  each  man  who  feels  the  obligation  of  that  law 
and  the  desire  to  obey  it  decide  for  himself  how 
to  keep  it.  These  puerile  and  exasperating  rules 
made  it  impossible  to  keep  the  Sabbath  in  the 
right  spirit — to  keep  it  so  as  to  derive  the  great- 
est benefit  from  its  observance.  Hence  Christ 
freed  it  from  every  restraint  which  was  not  es- 
sential to  the  preservation  of  the  institution  itself. 
He  took  away  the  minute  and  particular  rules, 
and  left  the  broad  general  law  that  the  Sabbath 
was  to  be  a  day  of  rest  and  w^orship.  This  was 
mainly  a  work  of  restoration,  for  these  rules  were 
the  result  of  an  abuse  of  the  original  law  of  the 
Sabbath.  But  while  he  was  correcting  the  abuses 
with  which  it  was  beset,  he  brought  out  strongly 
certain  characteristics  of  the  true  Sabbath  which 
he  meant  to  preserve  for  his  people.  He  nowhere 
so  much  as  intimates  that  it  was  not  to  remain  a 
day  of  rest  from  secular  toil ;  and  yet  he  teaches 
that  it  is  to  be  a  day  of  activity.     He  sets  him- 

19  (63) 


290    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

self  strongly  against  the  false  notion  held  in  his 
time  that  works  of  mercy  were  violations  of  a 
command  which  forbade  only  servile  work  and 
husiness  carried  on  for  gain.  How  pregnant  with 
meaning  are  the  words  which  he  uses  in  his  reply 
to  those  who  persecuted  him  for  healing  the  poor 
impotent  man  at  the  pool  of  Bethesda ! — "  But 
Jesus  answered  them,  My  Father  worketh  hith- 
erto, and  I  work."  They  were  not  to  suppose 
that  God's  Sabbath  meant  a  season  of  quiescence, 
of  cessation  from  all  activity.  If  he  rested  in  the 
sense  in  which  they  understood  it — if  he  ceased 
from  all  beneficent  labor — the  world  could  not 
turn  upon  its  axis  and  the  sun  could  not  rise  and 
set ;  the  seasons  could  not  come  in  their  regular 
round ;  the  sun  would  cease  to  shine,  the  winds 
to  blow,  the  rains  to  fall ;  and  flowers  could  not 
bloom,  seeds  could  not  bring  forth  after  their 
kind,  no  living  creature  could  maintain  its  exist- 
ence ;  in  a  word,'if  this  long  Sabbath  day  of  God 
which  is  now  passing  were  not  crowded  full  of 
benevolent  works,  the  world  in  which  we  live 
would  be  a  dead  and  barren  thing  instead  of  a 
fit  and  beautiful  habitation  for  man.  But  not 
alone  in  nature  does  God  work.  This  Sabbath 
day  of  his  is  "  the  day  of  salvation " — the  day 
in  which  he  is  working,  with  might  and  energy 
which  we   cannot  measure,   for  the   redemption 

(64) 


The  Lord's  Day.  291 

of  the  world.  His  selection  of  the  Hebrew  peo- 
ple to  be  the  recipients  of  his  revealed  truth ;  his 
training  of  them  through  the  law  and  through  his 
providential  dealings ;  the  appointment  of  men  to 
act  as  law-givers,  kings  and  prophets ;  the  inspi- 
ration of  men  to  write  the  Bible ;  the  gift  of  his 
Son ;  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  Church  and  the  bestowment 
of  pastors  and  ,  evangelists  upon  it, — all  these 
works  the  Father  has  done  in  his  Sabbath. 
Here,  then,  was  Christ's  warrant  for  doing  on 
the  Sabbath  any  work  that  would  bless  men  and 
further  the  establishment  of  his  kingdom. 

The  important  fact  is  to  be  noticed  that  the 
works  which  he  performed  on  the  Sabbath  were 
either  works  of  mercy  or  religious  w^ork.  Wo 
divide  them  into  these  two  classes,  for  the  divis- 
ion is  very  significant  and  instructive.  He  healed 
the  sick,  and  that  was  a  work  of  mercy.  He 
taught  in  the  synagogues  and  at  private  houses, 
and  that  was  religious  work.  We  read,  "  When 
the  sabbath  day  was  come,  he  began  to  teach  in 
the  synagogue :  and  many,  hearing  /^/;?^,  were 
astonished,  saying,  From  whence  hath  this  man 
these  things  ?"  *  "  He  came  to  Nazareth,  where 
he  had  been  brought  up ;  and,  as  his  custom  ivas, 

*  Mark  6  :  2. 

(65) 


292    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

he  went  into  the  synagogue  on  the  sabbath  day, 
and  stood  up  for  to  read."*  "And  came  down 
to  Capernaum,  a  city  of  Galilee,  and  taught  them 
on  the  sabbath  days."f  "He  was  teaching  in 
one  of  the  synagogues  on  the  sabbath."  J  Why 
did  he  thus  teach  in  the  synagogues  ?  The  ob- 
vious answer  is,  in  order  that  he  might  do  men 
good.  He  had  the  truth  which  it  was  necessary 
for  them  to  hear.  He  had  come  from  heaven 
with  a  message  which  he  must  deliver,  and  here 
were  his  oppor trinities.  His  love  for  the  souls 
of  men  would  not  suffer  them  to  remain  in  dark- 
ness, when  he  could  be  "  the  light  of  the  world." 
Thus  his  conduct  throws  light  upon  the  nature 
of  the  Lord's  day,  which  was  to  be  the  Sabbath 
day  in  his  kingdom.  The  Mosaic  law  was  mainly 
composed  of  prohibitions  ;  the  distinguishing  char- 
acteristic of  the  law  of  Christ  is  that  it  requires 
men  to  do  good.  To  be  a  member  of  Christ's 
kingdom  it  is  not  enough  to  bo  without  sin  and 
guilty  of  no  wrong-doing :  one  must  also  have 
positive  virtues  and  graces,  and  perform  deeds 
of  love.  Indeed,  the  method  of  Christ  in  the 
salvation  of  men  is  to  expel  evil  from  their 
hearts    and    lives    by    filling    them    with   good. 


*  Luke  4  :  16.  %  Ibid.,  13  :  10. 

\Thid.,  4:31. 
(66) 


The  Lord's  Day,  293 

Christ  is  our  pattern  and  example.  A  life  that 
is  not  full  of  benevolent  deeds  is  in  no  sense  a 
Christian  life.  Now,  the  nature  of  the  Lord's 
day  is  to  be  determined  by  the  nature  of  the 
Christian  system  of  which  it  forms  an  integral 
part.  It  is  to  be  a  sample  of  the  whole  Christian 
life,  differing  from  other  days  only  in  that  it  fur- 
nishes opportunity  for  a  fuller  expression  of  the 
spirit  which  must  underlie  the  work  of  every 
day.  It  is  to  be  a  day  of  intense  activity.  The 
rest  that  it  affords  is  the  rest  of  change,  not  that 
of  complete  stagnation.  This  activity  is  to  be 
benevolent.  One  day  in  seven  is  thus  set  apart 
in  order  that  Christians  may  devote  themselves 
without  hindrance  to  the  welfare  of  others.  On 
that  day  they  are  to  attend  the  services  at  the 
Lord's  house — not  that  they  may  be  entertained, 
but  in  order  that  his  cause  may  be  promoted. 
,0n  that  day,  after  the  manner  of  Christ  in  the 
synagogue,  they  &-re  to  teach  the  word  of  life  to 
those  who  are  ignorant,  that  the  Lord  may  be 
made  known  and  his  will  done  in  the  eai:th.  On 
that  day  especially  they  are  to  give  of  their  sub- 
stance as  the  Lord  has  prospered  them,  in  order 
that  the  gospel  may  be  carried  to  all  the  world. 
On  that  day  they  are  to  visit  the  sick,  comfort 
the  afflicted,  relieve  the  distressed,  and  "send 
portions  to  them  that  have  not."     For  remember 

(67) 


294    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

that  it  is  the  Lord's  day — the  day  on  which  we 
coinmemorate  the  finished  work  of  him  who  came 
into  the  world  to  save  the  lost,  and  died  on  the 
cross  for  their  redemption.  The  day  is  sacred  to 
him  who  "  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but 
to  minister,  and  to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for 
many."*  The  only  way  in  which  such  a  day 
can  be  fitly  kept  is  by  filling  it  with  deeds  of 
loving  devotion  to  the  welfare  of  others.  In  no 
other  way  can  it  be  made  the  Lord's  day. 

This  is  certainly  an  advance  on  the  Jewish 
Sabbath,  just  as  Christianity  is  an  advance  on 
Judaism.  That  was  a  day  for  rest  and  worship 
and  the  study  of  the  law,  and  for  family  gather- 
ings ;  but  it  was  not  strongly  marked  as  a  day 
for  doing  good  to  those  who  were  in  need. 
Judaism  was  exclusive,  and  so  the  Jew  had  little 
thought  of  going  beyond  himself  and  his  family 
to  give  the  light  of  truth  to  those  who  were  in 
darkness.  Christianity  is  inclusive,  and  all  the 
world  is  to  be  gathered  to  Christ.  He  died  for 
all  souls ;  his  heart  is  most  tenderly  moved  to- 
ward those  that  are  farthest  away  from  God; 
and  the  Christian  must  share  this  feeling  of 
his  Lord  for  the  lost,  and  express  it  by  work- 
ing for  their  salvation.     The  Lord's   day  is  not 

*  Matthew  20  :  28. 
(68) 


The  Lord's  Day,  295 

the  only  day  on  which  he  is  to  do  this,  but  it  is 
especially  consecrated  to  that  purpose.  Thus 
\\\^  day  takes  its  character  from  the  character 
of  Christianity. 

It  may  be  objected  that  such  a  day  is  not  a 
day  of  rest,  in  any  proper  sense  of  the  word.  It 
is  not  meant  that  every  hour  of  the  Lord's  day  is 
to  be  used  in  this  way.  We  are  not  discussing 
the  specific  subject  of  how  to  employ  its  hours ; 
we  are  only  striving  to  define  the  purpose  and 
nature  of  the  day.  However,  in  answer  to  the 
objection  it  may  be  said  that  the  truest  rest  and 
refreshment  are  found  in  a  change  of  occupation. 
The  men  and  women  who  have  been  engaged  all 
the  week  in  manual  toil  can  rest  their  bodies, 
while  doing  these  works  of  Christian  charity,  as 
well  as  they  could  if  they  spent  the  day  in  sleep 
or  complete  idleness.  The  mind  never  needs 
absolute  rest ;  and  nothing  recuperates  the  mind- 
worn  body  so  well  as  becoming  interested  in  new 
subjects  of  thought  and  objects  of  attention.  He 
who  comes  to  Vii^  Lord's  day  in  the  right  spirit 
will  rejoice  that  he  has  opportunity  to  engage  in 
works  appropriate  to  it.  Turning  aside  from  the 
toil  and  care  of  his  worldly  calling  and  giving 
himself  for  one  day  in  seven  to  the  performance 
of  Christ-like  deeds,  he  will  feel  like  the  school- 
boy escaping  from  his  tasks  for  his  day  or  hour 

(69) 


296    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

of  play.  Now  we  all  know  that  play  is  the  best 
kind  of  rest ;  and  play  is  what  one  likes  to  do, 
coming  as  a  relief  from  doing  what  one  dislikes. 
The  Lord's  day  is  thus  a  play-day  to  one  who  loves 
good  works,  for  it  is  the  day  on  which  he  may 
best  gratify  his  holy  desires.  To  him  who  can- 
not thus  enjoy  it,  it  still  remains  a  yoke  of  bond- 
age under  which  he  must  put  his  neck,  hoping 
that  as  the  Spirit  of  God  works  within  him,  it 
may  become  an  "  easy"  yoke. 

This  idea  of  Sabbath  rest  in  the  midst  of  activ- 
ity on  the  Lord's  day  is  that  which  renders  it  the 
most  perfect  type  of  the  rest  which  "  remaineth 
to  the  people  of  God."  For  when  we  feel  that 
we  are  saved,  not  by  our  own  striving  but  by  the 
finished  work  of  Christ — when  we  feel  that  his 
blood  applied  to  our  hearts  gives  us  the  "  peace 
that  passeth  all  understanding" — then  it  is  that 
our  souls  are  moved  as  by  a  mighty  and  irresist- 
ible instinct  to  work  for  God.  The  rest  from  the 
stings  of  a  guilty  conscience  and  from  the  slavery 
of  the  ever-threatening  law  is  not  the  rest  of  idle- 
ness, but  of  ceaseless  activity  in  works  prompted 
by  love  and  gratitude  to  him  who  hath  redeemed 
us.  Paradoxical  as  it  may  sound,  the  conviction 
that  we  can  do  nothing  in  w^orking  out  our  own 
salvation  is  the  primary  source  of  all  work  for  the 
glory  of  God.  And  in  such  work  there  is  com- 
(70) 


The  Lord's  Day,  297 

plete  rest  of  heart — rest  from  fear  toward  God  and 
from  envy  and  disappointment  and  every  ungrat- 
ified  desire  in  our  relations  with  men.  The  work 
becomes  a  joy  and  so  a  source  of  rest  to  the  soul. 
It  will  be  so  in  the  world  to  come.  The  rest  of 
heaven  is  not  inaction.  God  has  not  redeemed 
us  at  such  infinite  cost  and  trained  us  with  such 
patient  care  simply  that  we  may  enjoy  a  heaven 
which  could  be  a  delight  only  to  a  person  of  un- 
speakable laziness.  We  are  redeemed  and  trained 
for  service, — but  a  service  which  will  be  a  delight, 
a  service  without  friction  or  worry  or  disgust,  a 
service  in  which  perfect  rest  and  intensest  activ- 
ity can  be  combined.  In  such  a  rest  the  rational 
spirit  can  find  a  perfect  heaven.  Thus  the  Lord's 
day,  rightly  understood,  points  to  that  perfect 
rest  for  which  every  sin-burdened  but  struggling 
soul  longs  with  unutterable  desire. 

The  apostles  accepted  their  Lord's  view  of  the 
Sabbath.  Their  loyalty  to  him  would  not  allow 
them  knowingly  to  act  contrary  to  his  will.  The 
Holy  Spirit,  by  whom  they  were  inspired,  would 
enable  them  to  know  his  will  on  this  as  on  every 
subject.  Hence  we  find  that  they  celebrated  the 
Lord's  day,  not  in  idleness  on  the  one  hand  nor 
in  roistering  and  mirth  on  the  other,  but  in  the 
worship  of  God  and  in  earnest  work  for  the  Mas- 
ter.    It  has  already  been  remarked  that  Christ's 

(71) 


298    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sabbath. 

disputes  with  the  Pharisees  on  the  nature  of  the 
Sabbath  imply  that  he  discountenanced  the  lay- 
ing down  of  formal  and  precise  rules  for  its 
observance.  In  perfect  keeping  with  this,  the 
apostles  say  nothing  with  regard  to  what  is  law- 
ful or  unlawful  on  the  Lord's  day.  Their  exam- 
ple teaches  us  what  should  be  done  on  that  day, 
but  they  lay  no  prohibitions  upon  the  consciences 
of  Christians  concerning  it.  This  does  not  imply 
that  they  regarded  the  manner  of  observing  it  as 
a  matter  of  indifference.  They  felt  that  the  orig- 
inal Sabbath  law,  in  its  essential  features,  was 
still  in  force,  and  were  content  to  leave  it  as  it 
had  been  given.  They  would  not  go  beyond 
their  Lord  in  telling  men  what  they  must  or 
must  not  do.  They  would  not  make  the  dread- 
ful mistake  of  the  rabbis  and  try  to  tell  exactly 
how  every  minute  of  the  Lord's  day  should  be 
disposed  of.  The  Christian  Church  was  not  to 
be  subjected  to  that  sort  of  bondage.  However, 
this  larger  liberty,  as  we  learn  from  their  teach- 
ing on  other  topics,  was  not  to  be  construed  into 
license.  Christians  must  still  obey  the  law  of 
the  Sabbath,  but  they  might  judge  for  them.selves 
what  particular  acts  would  violate  it.  The  time 
had  come  when  the  purpose  of  the  Sabbath  could 
be  understood,  and  those  Christians  who  were 
anxious  to  make  it  serve  that  purpose  would  do 
(72) 


The  Lord's  Daij.  299 

nothing  to  defeat  it.  Thus  the  Lord's  day  differs 
from  the  Jewish  Sabhath  in  the  motive  to  which 
it  appeals.  While  the  latter  was  not  a  day  of 
burdensome  restraints,  its  sanctity  w^as  guarded 
by  emphatically-expressed  laws,  the  violator  of 
which  incurred  severe  penalties..  Fear  restrained 
the  Jews  from  disobedience  of  the  law,  and  im- 
pelled them  to  obey  it.  It  was  not  designed  that 
fear  should  have  any  place  in  securing  obedience 
to  the  law  on  the  part  of  Christians.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  they  are  brought  into  such  nearness 
to  God  that  they  will  love  to  obey  his  laws. 
Their  education  is  so  far  advanced  that  they  can 
see  the  reason  for  obeying.  Young  children  must 
often  obey  their  parents  blindly,  not  knowing  why 
they  are  commanded  to  do  this  or  that.  Slaves 
are  always  expected  to  render  to  their  masters 
that  kind  of  obedience ;  but  he  is  not  a  wise  par- 
ent who  arbitrarily  asserts  his  authority  over  his 
half-grown  children  and  conceals  from  them  the 
reasons  for  his  commands.  They  are  still  obliged 
to  obey  him ;  but  he  should  base  his  claim  to  obe- 
dience on  the  knowledge  of  what  is  best  which 
they  can  now  share  with  him.  Thus  they  be- 
come friends  and  allies  instead  of  dependents  and 
possible  antagonists.  God  is  dealing  in  the  same 
way  with  his  people.     He  takes  them  into  a  sort 

of  partnership  with  himself,  and  says  to  them,  in 

(73) 


300    Nature  and  Lnportance  of  the  Sahhath. 

effect,  "  Yonr  interest  will  be  subserved  by  obe- 
dience to  this  law.  Obey,  not  from  a  sense  of 
fear,  but  because  you  are  able  to  see  that  the  law 
is  holy,  just  and  good,  and  that  you  will  injure 
yourself  by  disobeying.  Do  not  feel  that  I  could 
have  any  other  reason  for  placing  this  command 
upon  you  than  a  desire  to  secure  your  highest 
good."  Not  many  of  those  who  lived  before 
Christ  could  have  understood  that.  Respecting 
the  apprehension  of  divine  truth,  they  were  chil- 
dren. Let  us  be  thankful  that  God  has  given  us 
greater  light  and  liberty,  but  let  us  not  find  in  it 
a  reason  for  disobeying  the  fourth  commandment. 
Here  we  may  find  the  explanation  of  the  fact 
that  the  death  penalty  for  violating  the  Sabbath 
has  been  abolished.  It  was  inflicted  in  the  early 
history  of  the  institution,  and  some  argue  that 
because  it  is  done  away,  the  law  of  the  Sabbath 
is  annulled.  The  argument  proves  too  much,  for, 
under  the  Mosaic  law,  stubborn  and  rebellious 
children  were  liable  to  death.*  Because  this 
penalty  is  no  longer  inflicted,  does  it  follow  that 
children  are  now  less  guilty  than  formerly  if  they 
abuse  their  parents  ?  But  the  argument  is  w^orse 
than  fallacious.  Those  who  advance  it  show  that 
they  have  mistaken  a  change  in  God's  method  of 


*  Exodus  21 :  15,  17  ;  Deuteronomy  21 :  18,  21. 
(74) 


The  Lord's  Day,  301 

dealing  with  us,  for  a  change  in  the  duties  which 
we  owe  to  him,  to  ourselves  and  to  our  fellow 
men.     Under  the  Christian  dispensation  no  sin, 
however  enormous  it  may  be,  receives  immedi- 
ately its  full  punishment.     The  state  may  punish 
crimes,  but  can  inflict  no  penalty  for  sins.     This 
is  the  day  of  salvation,  not  the  day  of  judgment; 
that  is  coming  hereafter.     The  disciples,  angry 
with   certain   Samaritans   because   they   had  not 
given  Jesus  a  good  reception,  asked,  "  Wilt  thou 
that  we  command  fire  to  come  down  from  heaven, 
and  consume  them,  even  as  Elias  did  ?"     His  an- 
swer was  a  sharp  rebuke :  "  Ye  know  not  what 
manner  of  spirit  ye  are  of     For  the  Son  of  man 
is  not  come  to  destroy  men's  lives,  but  to  save 
themr'^     While    the    race    was   in  the   primary 
school  of  God,  the  nature  of  sin  could  be  revealed 
only   by  inflicting  severe  penalties   upon  trans- 
gressors.    The  lesson  having  now  been  given  and 
the  minds  of  men  who  heed  God's  voice  having 
been  enlightened,  we  can  see  that  sin  may  best 
be  left  to  work  out  its   own  penalty.     Ananias 
and  Sapphira  were  smitten  dead  for  lying  about 
their  property.     Because  those  who  tell  similar 
lies  now  are  not  so  punished,  does  it  follow  that 
their  sin  is  less  ?     That  was  a  special  case,  and 


*  Luke  9  :  54-56. 

(T5) 


302    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

designed  to  give  a  terrible  warning  to  the  Church 
at  the  very  beginning  of  its  history.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Mosaic  dispensation  a  similar  mark 
was  put  upon  the  sin  of  violating  the  Sabbath ; 
but  now,  while  the  sin  is  just  the  same,  the  pen- 
alty is  not  inflicted.  Those  who  break  the  Sab- 
bath are  not  stoned  to  death ;  they  are  left  to 
receive  in  their  own  souls  and  bodies  the  natural 
consequences  of  their  sin.  Since  this  is  the  day 
of  salvation,  opportunity  for  repentance  is  given ; 
but  if  they  do  not  repent,  their  punishment  will 
be  worse  than  stoning.  Even  in  this  life  they 
will  become  morally  degraded  and  physically 
enervated.  Their  souls  will  be  farther  and  far- 
ther separated  from  God,  and  thus  fitted  for  an 
eternal  imprisonment  in  "  outer  darkness."  They 
have  had  ample  instruction  and  warning ;  but  "be- 
cause sentence  against  an  evil  work  is  not  exe- 
cuted speedily,  therefore  the  heart  of  the  sons  of 
men  is  fully  set  in  them  to  do  evil."  *  If  men 
were  stoned  to  death  now  for  Sabbath-breaking, 
very  few  would  be  guilty  of  it.  Let  it  be  known 
that  the  sin  is  not  less  because  the  penalty  is 
changed. 

We  are  now  prepared  to  examine  in  detail  the 
differences  and  resemblances  between  the  Jewish 

*  Ecclesiastes  8:11. 
(76) 


The  Lord's  Day,  303 

Sabbath  and  the  Lord's  day.  Most  of  these  have 
been  noticed  in  previous  parts  of  the  discussion ; 
but  it  is  desirable  that  they  be  grouped  together 
in  a  brief  summary.  In  what  do  they  agree  and 
in  what  do  they  differ  ? 

In  respect  to  their  essential  nature  they  are  one 
and  the  same  institution.  The  foundation  of  both 
is  the  fourth  commandment,  which  forms  part  of 
the  moral  law ;  but  while  they  are  both  command- 
ed, neither  was  meant  to  be  a  burden,  and  the 
Lord's  day  especially  is  a  day  of  liberty  and  re- 
joicing. In  this  they  are  slightly  different,  the 
Lord's  day  having  less  of  prohibitory  restraint, 
and  the  motive  for  keeping  it  being  love  for  Christ 
rather  than  fear  of  penalty. 

Both  are  memorial  days.  The  Jewish  Sabbath 
was  designed  to  commemorate  the  work  of  cre- 
ation and  the  rest  of  God  which  followed  it.  The 
Lord's  day  serves  the  same  end.  With  the  six 
days  of  work  which  precede  it,  it  furnishes  the 
same  reminder  of  God's  creative  work  and  his 
subsequent  rest.  But  here  there  is  a  difference 
as  well  as  an  agreement.  The  Jewish  Sabbath 
was  made  commemorative  of  the  deliverance  of 
the  Hebrews  from  Egyptian  bondage ;  the  Lord's 
day  commemorates  the  deliverance  of  the  world 
from  the  bondage  and  curse  of  sin  by  the  Re- 
deemer.    In  this  respect  the  glory  of  the  Lord's 

(77) 


304    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

day  is  infinitely  greater  than  of  that  which  has 
passed  away.  If  the  Jews  cared  to  celebrate 
the  day  which  reminded  them  of  their  former 
bondage  and  present  liberty,  much  more  ought 
we  to  celebrate  the  day  on  which  Christ  proved 
himself  the  conqueror  of  death  and  hell.  As  me- 
morials of  deliverance,  they  both  teach,  to  those 
for  whom  they  were  designed,  lessons  of  humil- 
ity and  gratitude. 

Both  are  froioheiic  of  a  higher  and  more  per- 
fect rest  than  they  have  given  or  can  give.  Both 
point  to  the  rest  of  the  soul  in  God  through  faith 
in  the  Lord  Jesus — the  one  dimly,  the  other  with 
clearer  symbol — and  to  the  perfect  rest  which  can 
come  only  when  all  the  toils  and  cares  of  this  life 
are  over. 

Both  were  designed  for  the  benefit  of  man, 
affording  him  opportunities  for  rest  and  for  the 
cultivation  of  his  religious  nature.  In  this  re- 
spect the  only  difference  is  that  the  Lord's  day, 
being  commemorative  of  greater  events  and  tak- 
ing its  character  more  from  the  gospel  dispensa- 
tion, is  calculated  to  be  far  more  useful  to  Chris- 
tians than  it  was  possible  for  the  Jewish  Sabbath 
to  be  to  the  most  devout  Hebrew. 

They  differ  in  respect  to  the  da?/  of  the  week 
on  which  they  should  be  observed.     The  Jewish 

Sabbath  came  upon  the  seventh,  the  Lord's  day 

(78) 


The  LonVs  Bay.  305 

is  the  first,  day  of  the  week.  This  change  was 
made  by  the  authority  of  the  inspired  apostles, 
and  does  not  affect  the  nature  of  the  institution. 
The  particular  day  of  the  week  on  which  it 
should  be  observed  was  a  'positive^  not  a  moral, 
element  of  the  Sabbath  law,  and  is  abolished. 
It  is  commonly  asserted  that  the  proportion  of 
time  was  also  positive,  and  that  the  only  moral 
element  is  the  duty  of  setting  apart  some  portion 
of  time  to  the  service  of  God.  This  may  be 
true  ;  but  it  is  not  worth  w^hile  to  dispute  about 
it,  for  the  apostles  retained  the  seventh-day 
division  in  the  establishment  of  the  Lord's 
day,  and  thus  the  proportion  of  time  is  for- 
ever fixed. 

In  so  far  as  the  Jewish  Sabbath  was  commem- 
orative of  the  deliverance  from  Egypt,  it  was 
local.  This  feature  of  it  could  have  no  interest 
for  any  other  people.  But  the  Lord's  day  is ,  to 
be  universal.  Wherever  men  acknowledge  the 
lordship  of  Christ,  his  day  will  be  observed.  It 
is  prophesied  in  holy  writ  that  he  is  to  be  king 
over  the  whole  earth  :  "  God  also  hath  highly  ex- 
alted him,  and  given  him  a  name  which  is  above 
every  name  :  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven,  and  things  in 
earth,  and  tJmigs  under  the  earth ;  and  that  every 
tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord, 
20  (79) 


306    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father."  *  It  is  scarcely 
conceivable  that  the  religion  of  Christ  can  be  any- 
where established  and  the  Lord's  day  not  be  there 
observed.  There  can  hardly  be  preaching  of  the 
gospel  in  any  systematic  way  without  this  insti- 
tution. It  is  quite  certain  that  as  soon  as  love 
and  loyalty  to  Christ  begin  to  be  felt  in  the 
hearts  of  men,  they  are  glad  to  keep  holy  the 
Lord's  day.  Its  promise  of  universality  sep- 
arates it  widely  from  the  Jewish  Sabbath.  The 
latter  could  never  have  found  general  acceptance. 
The  fact  that  for  centuries  no  other  people  had 
kept  the  Sabbath  left  the  impression  upon  the 
minds  of  the  Gentiles  that  it  was  altogether  a 
Jewish  institution.  This  would  have  rendered 
futile  any  attempt  to  make  it  universal.  It  was, 
no  doubt,  for  this  reason,  among  others,  that  the 
day  of  the  week  was  changed,  and  that  other 
changes  were  made  adapting  the  institution  to 
the  needs  of  the  Christian  Church.  There  is 
nothing  in  the  nature  of  the  Lord's  day  to  pre- 
vent its  universal  adoption  by  all  those  who  re- 
ceive the  Lord  Jesus  as  their  Saviour  and  King. 

And  this  leads  to  the  notice  of  another  striking 
difference  between  them.  To  a  certain  extent 
the  Jewish  Sabbath  took  its  character  from  the 
religious  system  of  the  Hebrews.     It  was  so  con- 

^Philippians  2:9-11. 
(80) 


The  LonVs  Dofj.  307 

nected  with  every  part  of  that  system  that  such  a 
conformity  was  inevitable.  It  was  a  Jewish  fes- 
tival whose  observance  did  not  require  them  to 
consider  the  welfare  of  any  one  who  was  not  a 
Jew.  But  this  was  no  more  true  of  the  Sabbath 
than  of  any  other  feature  of  Judaism,  and  does 
not  argue  that  it  was  made  for  them  alone.  The 
peculiar  forms  of  their  religious  system  modified 
the  original  Sabbath.  The  essentials  remained 
the  same,  but  it  took  on  enough  of  Jewish  shape 
to  make  it  necessary  to  reform  it  for  the  Chris- 
tian Church.  Even  as  the  Jew  observed  it,  it 
could  not  differ  materially  from  the  Lord's  day, 
for  the  same  God  established  both,  for  essentially 
the  same  purpose.  Still,  as  known  among  them 
it  was  the  Jewish  Sabbath.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Lord's  day  is  distinctively  a  Christian  insti- 
tution. The  reason  for  observing  it  on  the  first 
day  of  the  week  is  to  commemorate  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ.  It  is  to  be  kept  in  the  spirit 
of  Christ.  It  is  to  be  marked  by  such  deeds  in 
behalf  of  men  as  signalized  the  life  of  Christ. 
It  is  to  be  so  used  as  to  promote  the  extension 
of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  It  symbolizes  the 
perfect  rest  which  comes  to  the  soul  only  by 
means  of  faith  in  Christ.  Thus  it  is  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  followers  of  Christ. 
In  conclusion,  we  may  observe  that  it  is  im- 

(81) 


o08    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhaih. 

possible  to  see  how  the  Lord's  day  is  any  less 
important  to  Christians  and  to  the  whole  world 
than  was  the  Sabbath  to  the  Hebrews.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  much  more  important.  It  is  the 
heir  of  all  that  w^as  essential  and  of  all  that 
would  be  useful  to  the  world  in  the  Jewish 
Sabbath.  Every  feature  in  which  the  Lord's 
day  differs  from  its  prototype  is  an  improve- 
ment. The  changes  in  this  institution  conform 
to  the  law  of  growth  according  to  which  the 
establishment  of  God's  kingdom  among  men  has 
been  accomplished.  Every  purpqse  which  could 
be  served  by  the  Jewish  Sabbath  can  be  better 
served  by  the  Lord's  day.  We  have  seen  how 
the  importance  of  the  former  was  impressed  upon 
the  minds  of  the  Jews  by  its  association  with  the 
greatest  events  known  to  men.  But  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ,  with  which  the  Lord's  day  is 
associated,  was  an  event  greater  even  than  the 
creation.  We  have  seen  that  the  principal  rea- 
son for  giving  this  importance  to  the  Sabbath  of 
the  Jews  was  that  it  was  vitally  related  to  their 
religion.  But  the  Lord's  day  is  even  more  closely 
connected  with  the  extension,  and  maintenance  of 
Christianity,  which  is  to  Judaism  as  the  glory  of 
noonday  compared  with  the  dim  light  of  the  early 
morning.  Judaism  was  but  the  scaffolding  of  the 
great  temple  which  God  was  building  in  the  world. 

(82) 


The  Lord's  Day,  309 

The  Sabbath,  as  i\Q  Jews  knew  it,  was  an  import- 
ant part  of  that  scaffolding ;  but  the  Lord's  day 
is  an  important  part  of  the  temple  itself  By  its 
commemoration  of  our  Lord's  resurrection,  by  its 
conformity  to  the  genim  of  Christianity,  by  its 
spirituality,  by  its  demand  for  the  performance 
of  benevolent  deeds,  it  becomes  a  powerful  in- 
strument in  the  redemption  of  the  race.  If  God 
made  the  Jew  feel  that  it  was  necessary  for  him 
carefully  to  observe  the  Sabbath,  much  more  are 
we  made  to  feel  that  it  is  unspeakably  important 
for  us  to  keep  sacred  the  Lord's  day.  We  admit 
that  men  are  saved  by  the  power  of  God.  We 
admit  that  gospel  truth  is  the  instrument  which 
he  uses.  Nevertheless,  we  hold  that  the  hope 
of  the  world  is  in  the  preservation  of  the  Lord's 
day  in  all  its  purity.  Destroy  this,  and  soon  no 
gospel  could  be  preached,  no  religious  services 
could  be  held;  Christ  would  be  forgotten  and 
his  religion  banished,  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 
Judaism  could  not  live  without  its  Sabbath. 
Without  the  Lord's  day,  Christianity  would  soon 
be  but  a  glorious  memory.  If  it  is  important  to 
have  men  saved  from  sin  and  its  awful  conse- 
quences— if  it  is  important  to  have  the  human 
race  go  forward  in  working  out  a  noble  destiny — 
it  is  important  for  all  men  to  remember  the  per- 
petual obligation  of  the  Lord's  day. 

(83) 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE    PROPER    METHOD    OF   OBSERVING   THE   LORD's  DAY. 

Now  let  us  repose  from  our  care  and  our  sorrow, 
Let  all  that  is  anxious  and  sad  pass  away  ; 

The  rou^h  cares  of  life  lay  aside  till  to-morrow, 
And  let  us  be  tranquil  and  happy  to-day. 

Let  us  say  to  the  world,  should  it  tempt  us  to  wander — 
As  Abraham  said  to  his  men  on  the  plain — 

There's  the  mountain  of  prayer,  I  am  going  up  yonder, 
And  tarry  you  here  till  I  seek  you  again. 

James  Edmeston. 

Our  study  of  the  nature  and  purpose  of  the 
Sabbath,  in  the  two  previous  chapters,  has  pre- 
pared the  way  for  a  discussion  of  the  proper 
method  of  observing  it.  It  has  almost  dispensed 
Avith  the  necessity  for  such  a  discussion.  Every 
person  who  perceives  the  ends  which  the  Sabbath 
was  designed  to  accomplish  can  decide  for  him- 
self what  lines  of  conduct  are  consistent  with 
that  purpose.  At  the  most,  we  can  deal  only 
with  general  principles.  To  attempt  to  lay  down 
specific  rules,  prescribing  exactly  what  must  be 
abstained  from  and  what  done  on  Sunday,  would 
result  in  giving  the  institution  the  repulsive  char- 
acter that  it  had  under  the  teaching  of  the  rabbis. 

(8f) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day.      311 

The  gospel  of  Christ  is  a  gospel  of  liberty  ;  and 
while  there  was  some  excuse  for  such  restrictions 
under  a  dispensation  of  law,  there  can  be  none 
whatever  for  them  under  the  present  dispensa- 
tion. Furthermore,  rules  that  would  be  appli- 
cable in  one  case  would  not  apply  at  all  in  an- 
other. The  circumstances  of  different  individuals 
vary  so  widely  that  what  would  be  permissible 
for  one  might  be  clearly  wrong  for  another.  The^ 
same  diversity  of  circumstances  at  different  peri- 
ods in  the  life  of  the  same  person  would  have  to 
be  provided  for  in  any  set  of  rules  for  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Sabbath.  It  follows  that  much  must 
be  left  to  the  individual  conscience.  While  the 
law  is  plain  and  explicit  that  the  Lord's  day 
should  be  kept  holy,  just  how  it  is  to  be  done 
each  man  must  decide  for  himself.  This  is  the 
method  of  legislation  and  instruction  which  per- 
vades the  whole  New  Testament.  Hundreds  of 
questions  arise  to  which  no  specific  answer  is 
given  by  Christ  or  his  inspired  apostles.  They 
knew  that  minute  rules  for  the  regulation  of  the 
whole  life  could  not  be  given  within  the  compass 
of  a  book  which  any  one  would  read.  They  also 
knew — and  this  is  far  more  important — that  the 
only  way  to  build  up  strong  and  beautiful  char- 
acter is  to  allow  the  individual  to  govern  his  own 
life  in  accordance  with  certain  general  principles 

(85) 


312    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  SahhaiJi, 

of  conduct.  Always  to  swim  on  a  float  does  not 
make  a  strong  and  active  swimmer ;  and  always 
to  be  in  the  leading-strings  of  precise  rules  crip- 
ples the  mental  faculties,  and  prevents  the  devel- 
opment of  the  moral  sense. 

The  general  law  of  the  Sabbath  is,  keep 
steadily  in  mind  the  purposes  for  which  it  was 
established.  Whatever  is  calculated  to  defeat 
these  purposes,  in  respect  either  to  ourselves  or 
others,  is  prohibited ;  w^hatever  is  calculated  to 
promote  them  is  required.  We  have  discovered 
that  the  purposes  of  the  Sabbath  are  to  secure 
needed  rest  for  the  body,  to  give  those  engaged 
in  manual  labor  opportunity  to  improve  their 
mental  and  social  condition,  and  to  promote  the 
rehgious  welfare  of  man.  The  last  is  the  most 
important.  It  was  to  accomplish  this  that  the 
Sabbath  was  made  a  memorial  of  creation  and  of 
redemption,  that  it  was  set  apart  for  the  worship 
of  God,  and  that  it  was  made  a  type  of  spiritual 
and  eternal  rest.  Now,  in  respect  to  specific  ac- 
tions, any  man  ought  to  be  able  to  decide  whether 
they  are  calculated  to  defeat  or  to  promote  these 
purposes.  It  is  only  by  way  of  expanding  and 
illustrating  this  general  principle  that  we  under- 
take the  discussion  of  the  proper  method  of  keep- 
ing the  Lord's  day. 

The  subject  naturally  divides  itself  into  three 

(86) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day.      313 

parts  :  1.  Things  prohibited  :  actions  which  are 
plainly  violations  of  the  law  of  the  Sabbath.  2. 
Things  allowable  :  actions  which  in  some  circum- 
stances would  be  inconsistent  with  the  purposes 
of  the  Sabbath,  but  which,  in  other  circumstances, 
are  justifiable  by  a  higher  law  than  that  of  the 
Sabbath,  or  are  necessary  to  the  accomplishment 
of  its  purposes.  3.  Things  required :  duties  pe- 
culiarly appropriate  to  the  Sabbath,  and  for  the 
performance  of  which  it  was  appointed. 

I.  Things  Prohibited  on  the  Lord's  Day. — 
Many  difficulties  beset  this  part  of  the  subject. 
The  path  to  a  right  judgment  on  every  question 
that  can  arise  is  by  no  means  easy  and  plain.  And 
the  difficulties  are  increased  by  the  fact  that  the 
teaching  of  Christ  and  his  apostles  concerning  the 
Sabbath  contains  no  prohibitions  or  declarations  of 
what  is  unlawful  on  that  day.  Hence' we  must  go 
to  the  fourth  commandment  and  to  the  Old  Testa- 
ment expositions  of  it  for  any  express  prohibitions. 
But  we  are  not  shut  up  to  these,  for  the  purpose 
of  the  Sabbath  appears  more  clearly  in  the  words 
of  Christ  thau  in  any  other  part  of  the  Bible; 
and  it  is  by  keeping  in  mind  that  purpose  that  we 
are  able  to  formulate  prohibitory  laws  concerning 
it.  Whatever  tends  to  defeat  the  purpose  of  the 
Sabbath  is  wrong,  and  therefore  prohibited.  The 
statute  does  not  make  it  wrong,  but  it  is  forbid- 

(S7) 


314    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath, 

den  by  the  statute  because  it  is  wrong  in  the 
nature  of  the  case.  In  this  discussion  the  word 
"prohibited"  is  not  applied  only  to  that  which  is 
forbidden  by  an  express  command,  but  also  to 
whatever  is,  in  its  nature  or  tendency,  antag- 
onistic to  the  Sabbath.  Adopting  this  as  our 
principle,  we  shall  find  that  the  law  of  the  Sab- 
bath forbids — 

1.  All  labor  for  gain.  This  is  evident  both 
from  the  terms  of  the  commandment  and  from  the 
purpose  of  the  Sabbath.  The  word  in  the  fourth 
commandment  which  is  translated  "  work"  means 
servile  work — primarily,  such  work  as  could  be 
done  by  means  of  servants ;  more  widely,  all 
kinds  of  business.  That  it  included  the  latter  is 
plain  from  the  prohibitions  against  buying  and 
selling  which  we  find  in  Nehemiah.  We  have 
seen  that  the  disciples  of  Christ  did  not  pursue 
their  ordinary  avocations  on  the  Sabbath  day, 
since,  if  they  had,  it  would  certainly  have  been 
recorded  against  them. 

That  it  is  required  by  the  commandment  is  not 
the  only  reason  for  abstaining  from  work  for  gain 
on  the  Lord's  day.  Such  work  would  have  a 
direct  tendency  to  defeat  every  purpose  of  the 
institution.  Entire  cessation  from  the  ordinary 
pursuits  of  the  week  is  at  the  foundation  of  Sab- 
bath observance.     Without  this,  its  purpose  to 

(88) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day.      315 

give  rest  to  the  exhausted  body  of  the  toiler,  to 
provide  opportunity  for  mental  improvement  and 
social  culture,  and  to  promote  tlie  religious  de- 
velopment of  all  men,  could  not  be  accomplished. 
To  secure  any  one  of  these  objects  requires  com- 
plete abstinence  from  all  kinds  of  secular  work. 
It  may  be  asked  whether  such  work  on  the  Lord's 
day  is  in  itself  wrong — whether  a  part  of  the  day 
might  not  be  used  for  it  without  defeating  its 
purpose,  allowing  each  one  to  choose  for  himself 
what  portion  of  the  day  he  needs  for  rest  and 
religious  exercises.  It  has  already  been  deter- 
mined that  one  seventh  of  the  time  must  be  re- 
deemed from  toil  for  these  purposes.  This  is  the 
divine  arrangement;  and  whenever  men  have 
tried  to  be  wiser  than  God,  they  have  soon  found 
out  their  folly.  Men  are  so  bound  together  that 
some  cannot  rest  unless  all  do. 

But  these  are  not  the  only  reasons  for  the 
prohibition  of  all  secular  toil  on  the  Lord's  day. 
The  constant  tendency  is  for  the  pursuit  ot  gain 
to  encroach  upon  the  higher  interests.  So  worldly 
and  greedy  of  gain  are  men  by  nature,  so  prone 
are  they  to  forget  all  their  spiritual  interests  in 
their  eagerness  for  things  that  can  be  seen  and 
handled,  that  if  they  were  allowed  to  use  any 
part  of  the  Lord's  day  for  secular  work  they 
would   soon    come   to   use   it   all   in    that  way. 

(89) 


316    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath, 

Where  a  community  or  a  people  has  accepted  the 
theory  that  work  on  the  Lord's  day  is  not  wrong 
per  se,  that  it  is  only  a  question  of  expediency, 
and  that,  in  determining  what  is  expedient,  abso- 
lute cessation  from  Sunday  work  is  not  to  be  con- 
sidered, but  only  the  amount  which  it  is  advisable 
to  do,  the  day  has  become  thoroughly  secularized 
and  the  Sabbath  practically  destro^^ed.  It  is 
wrong  to  do  any  amount  of  work  for  gain  upon 
the  Lord's  day,  not  only  because  it  takes  part  of 
the  time  set  apart  for  higher  uses,  but  also  be- 
cause the  tendency  of  doing  a  little  is  to  lead  us 
on  to  do  more,  until  the  Sabbath  disappears  alto- 
gether. It  is  the  old  story  of  the  sea  of  sin  mak- 
ing a  small  break  in  the  dyke,  which  the  over- 
flowing stream  gradually  wears  larger,  so  that  it 
lets  in  more  and  more  of  the  flood,  until  the  fair 
fields  of  life  are  devastated. 

This  tendency  is  directly  contrary  to  the  spirit 
of  the  gospel.  Christ  and  his  apostles  would 
have  us  think  just  as  little  as  possible  of  the 
things  of  this  world,  and  to  give  our  attention 
mainly  to  preparation  for  the  world  to  come. 
They  would  not  have  us  allow  the  pursuit  of 
worldly  gain  to  encroach  upon  the  hours  devoted 
to  religious  purposes,  but  would,  rather,  have  us 
carry  the  spirit  of  the  Lord's  day  into  the  other 
days  of  the  week.  The  Sabbath  was  intended  to 
(•■»o) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day,      317 

serve  as  a  check  to  the  spirit  of  worldliness.  So 
far  as  it  is  occupied  with  work  for  gain,  this  pur- 
pose is  defeated.  It  is  evident  that  the  rule  con- 
cerning the  Lord's  day  mast  be,  "in  it  thou  shalt 
do  no  manner  of  work"  the  direct  object  of  which 
is  to  make  money.  To  this  rule  there  are  no 
exceptions.  On  that  day  men  are  not  permitted 
to  work  with  their  hands,  with  their  brains,  or 
by  means  of  servants,  if  the  moving  impulse  to 
such  work  is  the  desire  for  gain.  This  law  is 
very  simple,  and  no  one  need  find  any  difficulty 
in  applying  it  to  specific  cases.  It  forbids  the 
manual  toil  of  the  laborer,  the  farmer  and  the 
mechanic,  the  exercise  of  the  mind  in  the  solu- 
tion of  business  problems  by  the  merchant  and 
the  professional  man,  and  the  employment  of 
men  to  work  in  factories  or  mines,  to  print  and 
sell  newspapers,  to  run  cars  or  ships,  or  to  carry 
on  any  business  which  men  do  through  servants. 
God  is  no  respecter  of  persons.  He  does  not  say 
to  the  poor  man,  "You  must  not, add  to  your 
slender  income  by  working  on  the  Lord's  day," 
and  then  graciously  permit  the  managers  of  a 
great  railroad  to  run  their  cars  on  this  day  as  on 
all  others.  There  is  one  law  for  all,  and  that  law 
is,  no  work  for  gain  on  the  Lord's  day.  Whether 
an  exception  can  be  made  in  the  case  of  those 
who  do  work  on  that  day  which  seems  necessary, 

(91) 


318    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath, 

so  far  as  to  justify  them  in  receiving  the  ordinary- 
compensation  for  it,  is  a  question  the  discussion 
of  which  properly  belongs  to  the  next  topic. 
But  the  law  that  men  are  forbidden  to  engage,  on 
Sunday,  in  any  work  or  business  to  which  they 
are  prompted  only  by  the  desire  to  increase  their 
worldly  gains,  is  so  grounded  in  the  very  nature 
and  purpose  of  the  institution  that  its  necessity 
and  justness  will  be  admitted  without  further 
discussion. 

2.  The  law  of  the  Sahhath  forbids  lahor  for  any 
worldly  end.  Men  have  other  objects  which  are 
just  as  worldly  as  the  attainment  of  wealth. 
The  acquisition  of  knowledge,  the  cultivation  of 
the  mind,  the  increase  of  one's  reputation  and 
the  improvement  of  one's  social  condition  may  all 
be  sought  in  a  worldly  spirit.  It  may  be  said 
that  the  law  of  Christ  forbids  us  to  seek  them 
with  that  spirit  on  any  day,  and  that  is  true. 
But  may  they  be  sought  at  all  on  the  Lord's 
day  ?  May  the  student  whose  business  in  life  is 
the  attainment  of  knowledge  carry  on  his  studies 
on  that  day  the  same  as  on  other  days,  justifying 
himself  with  the  plea  that  he  is  gaining  knowl- 
edge in  order  that  he  may  be  a  more  useful  man 
in  the  w^orld  ?  May  the  author  continue  to  write 
because  one  of  his  motives  in  writing  is  that  he 
may  do  good  ?     May  the  professional  man — the 

(92) 


Method  of  Ohservlng  the  Lord's  Day.      319 

lawyer,  the  physician  or  the  editor — read  hard 
on  Sunday  in  the  direct  line  of  his  profession,  on 
the  plea  that  he  needs  such  reading  and  cannot 
get  time  for  it  on  other  days  ?  In  these  and  in 
all  similar  cases  the  answer  must  be  a  decided 
negative.  Such  work  is  calculated  to  defeat  at 
least  two  purposes  of  the  Sabbath.  One  is  that 
of  giving  to  men  needed  rest  for  mind  and  body. 
If  the  mind  is  used  vigorously  six  days  in  the 
week,  the  seventh  day  should  bring  a  complete 
change.  Absolute  inaction  is  not  required,  but 
there  should  be  a  change  of  subject, — a  turning 
aside  from  the  ordinary  lines  of  w^ork.  The  other 
is  the  purpose  to  provide  for  the  cultivation  of 
man's  religious  nature.  These  pursuits  are  sec- 
ular. Though  they  do  improve  the  mind,  they 
have  no  tendency  to  draw  men  nearer  to  God. 
Indeed,  few  things  are  so  fatal  to  the  religious 
life  as  the  exclusive  occupation  of  the  attention 
in  mental  pursuits.  We  have  seen  that  the  chief 
purpose  of  the  Sabbath  is  to  give  men  opportun- 
ities for  religious  development.  Any  pursuit  that 
radically  and  fatally  interferes  w^ith  this  is  forbid- 
den by  the  law^  of  the  Sabbath. 

3,  This  law  forhids  the  pursuit  of  worldli/ pleas- 
ure on  the  Lord's  day.  Here  there  is  need  of 
careful  discrimination.     If  the  law  is  too  literally 

understood,  one  of  two  undesirable  results  will  fol- 
ios) 


320    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

low.  Either  Sunday  will  become  a  day  of  gloom 
and  unwholesome  restraint,  or  the  law  will  be  de- 
spised and  disobeyed.  A  misunderstanding  of 
this  part  of  the  Sabbath  law  has  actually  led  to 
these  opposite  but  equally  lamentable  results,  the 
one  appearing  in  the  case  of  the  Puritans,  the 
other  in  the  case  of  those  W'ho  have  looked  upon 
the  Sabbath  as  an  institution  whose  restrictions 
were  unendurable. 

In  other  parts  of  this  discussion  we  have  tried 
to  show  that  the  Sabbath  was  designed  to  be  a  day 
of  rejoicing  in  the  Lord.  This  was  true  even  of 
the  Jewish  Sabbath.  It  wms  a  day  of  joyful  w^or- 
ship,  of  praise  and  thanksgiving,  of  cheerful  inter- 
course with  loved  ones.  The  Lord's  day,  as  com- 
memorating Christ's  triumph  over  death,  is  still 
more  joyous  in  its  character.  When,  therefore, 
we  say  that  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  forbids  the 
pursuit  of  pleasure  on  that  day,  w^e  must  not  be 
understood  as  meaning  that  it  is  wrong  to  make 
Sunday  the  most  cheerful  and  happy  day  of  the 
week.  The  enjoyment  of  rest,  of  freedom  from 
the  toils  and  cares  and  anxieties  of  the  week,  the 
jo^^s  of  the  sanctuary  wdiere  hymns  of  praise  and 
thanksgiving  are  sung  in  honor  of  the  risen  Lord, 
the  pure  delights  of  intercourse  with  the  members 
of  one's  family,  and  the  sweets  of  religious  read- 
ing and  meditation,  belong  to  the  proper  observ- 

(94) 


Method  of  OUerviny  the  Lord's  Day,      321 

ance  of  the  Lord's  day.  For  one  to  say  that 
he  can  find  no  pleasure  in  these  things  is  for 
him  to  condemn  himself,  and  not  the  law  of  the 
Sabbath. 

But  we  are  here  speaking  of  things  prohibited, 
and  must  be  more  specific.     The  pleasure  the  pur- 
suit of  which  on  the  Lord's  day  is  forbidden  is 
worldly  or  secular  or  carnal  pleasure.     It  is  such 
pleasure  as  is  derived  from  theatres,  dances,  ex- 
cursions, picnic  parties,  drives,  hunting  and  fish- 
ing, novels,  games,  unusual  eating  and  drinking, 
and  all  similar  forms  of  indulgence.     It  is  pleas- 
ure that  consists  in  mental  excitement,  or  diver- 
sion, or  in  the  gratification  of  the  bodily  senses. 
While  some  of  these  sources  of  pleasure  are  per- 
fectly legitimate,  and  may  be  employed  at  will 
on  other  days,  they  are  forbidden  on  the  Lord's 
day.     The  principal  reason  is  the  same  as  that 
given  in  the  case  of  prohibited  labors  :  the  gen- 
eral tendency  of  such  pleasure-seeking  is  to  de- 
feat every  purpose  of  the  Sabbath.     One  of  these 
purposes  is  to  secure  needed  rest  for  those  who 
labor  with  brain  or  hands.     It  would  be  useless 
to  deny  that  some  form  of  recreation  is  needed 
by  all  toilers— simple  rest  is  not  enough— and 
it  may  be  that  there  are  persons  who  must  ob- 
tain this  needed  recreation  on  the  Lord's  day  or 
go  without  it.     However  that  may  be,  we  are  not 

91 

^^  (95) 


322    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

now  speaking  of  such  cases,  but  only  of  the  pur- 
suit of  pleasure  for  its  own  sake.  When  men 
devote  Sunday  to  this  purpose,  instead  of  being 
refreshed  for  the  labors  of  the  week  to  follow, 
they  go  to  their  work  on  Monday  morning  fagged 
and  exhausted.  For  example,  it  is  claimed  that 
Sunday  excursions  must  be  allowed,  in  order  that 
the  laboring  people  of  the  towns  and  cities  may 
have  a  chance  to  get  needed  recreation  and  fresh 
air.  What  with  the  crowd,  the  hurry,  the  con- 
fusion, the  excitement,  the  dissipation  and  the 
long  hours  of  such  an  excursion,  it  is  generally 
found  that  it  exhausts  the  strength  instead  of 
renewing  it.  Ask  any  honest  workman  how  he 
feels  on  the  Monday  morning  after  it,  and  he  will 
reply  that  he  is  all  tired  out  with  yesterday's 
excursion,  but  that  he  will  get  over  it  in  a  day 
or  two.  He  thus  confesses  that  it  has  not  served 
to  renew  his  bodily  strength.  If  drinking  and 
carousing  are  added — as  they  too  often  are — he 
will  be  unfit  for  work  for  half  the  week.  It  is 
no  uncommon  thing  for  manufacturers  to  refuse 
to  pay  their  workmen  on  Saturday,  because  so 
many  of  them  will  spend  their. wages  and  the 
hours  of  Sunday  in  the  pursuit  of  "pleasure," 
having  so  "good"  a  time  that  they  cannot  re- 
turn to  their  work  before  Tuesday  or  Wednes- 
day.    Even  innocent  pleasures  become  injurious 

(96) 


Method  of  Observing  the  LorcVs  Da?/.      323 

when  they  deprive  one  of  needed  rest.  The 
writer  feels  quite  certain  that  the  young  men 
with  whom  he  was  associated  in  early  life,  all 
of  whom  had  to  labor  on  farms,  impaired  their 
physical  health  by  playing  ball,  hunting,  fishing 
and  picking  berries  on  Sunday,  when  they  ought 
to  have  rested.  On  a  Sunday  afternoon  in  sum- 
mer, when  one  sees  in  a  great  city  the  crowds  of 
people  packed  into  street-cars,  half  of  them  stand- 
ing, as  they  return  from  the  parks,  and  notes  how 
hot  and  tired  and  hungry  and  fretful  they  seem, 
he  cannot  help  feeling  how  much  better  off  they 
would  have  been  if  they  had  spent  the  day  in 
the  cool,  comfortable  churches  and  in  their  own 
homes.  A  large  number  of  employers  report 
that  of  the  two  classes,  church-goers  and  Sunday 
excursionists,  the  former  were  the  better  fitted  for 
work  on  Monday  morning.  Of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  replies  received  nearly  all  testified  in  favor 
of  church-goers.  Most  of  them  were  very  em- 
})hatic  as  to  the  disastrous  effects  upon  the  phys- 
ical health  of  the  ordinary  Sunday  excursion.* 
No  doubt  there  are  forms  of  worldly  pleasure 
which  can  be  pursued  on  Sunday  without  injurj^ 
to  the  body;  but  the  tendency  is  as  we  have 
indicated.     Seekers  of  pleasure,  especially  when 

*  See  "  The  Sabbath  for  Man,"  pp.  209-214. 

(97) 


324    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sabbath. 

they  give  up  one  day  in  a  week  to  its  pursuit,  are 
almost  certain  to  run  into  excesses  of  some  sort. 

But  if  there  are  exceptions  to  the  rule  that 
Sunday  pleasure-seeking  is  not  good  for  the 
body,  beyond  question  no  form  of  it  is  good  for 
the  mind  and  heart.  When  one  gives  his  week- 
days to  toil  and  his  Sundays  to  amusement,  he 
deprives  himself  of  every  chance  of  intellectual 
growth.  He  makes  himself  a  mere  beast  of  bur- 
den which,  once  a  week,  gets  a  day  off  for  kick- 
ing up  his  heels  in  the  pasture. 

This  method  of  spending  the  Sabbath  also  ig- 
nores its  most  important  purpose,  namely,  the 
cultivation  of  man's  religious  nature.  The  day 
which  was  given  us  in  order. that  we  might  have 
opportunity  to  prepare  for  heaven  is  used  to  get 
the  most  of  earth.  On  Sundays  we  are  to  com- 
memorate the  creation  of  the  world  and  the  res- 
urrection of  Christ ;  we  are  to  remember  and  wor- 
ship God  as  the  Creator  and  Redeemer.  On  that 
day  we  are  to  consider  especially  the  interests 
of  the  immortal  spirit,  and  to  promote  them  by 
the  study  of  the  word,  by  worship,  and  by  en- 
gaging in  Christian  work.  This  is  the  great  end 
of  the  Lord's  day ;  but  how  can  it  be  reached  if 
the  day  is  given  up  to  the  pursuit  of  worldly 
pleasures  ?  Man  needs  recreation,  but  far  more 
he  needs  religious  cultivation.     Even  needed  bod- 

(98) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day,      325 

ily  refreshment  is  dearly  bought  at  the  sacrifice 
of  his  religious  interests.  To  make  a  holiday  of 
Sunday  is  completely  to  secularize  it.  If  man 
has  no  holy  day,  he  will  soon  forget  God  and  the 
interests  of  his  own  soul. 

It  may  be  asked  whether  any  part  of  the  day 
may  properly  be  devoted  to  pleasure-seeking; 
whether,  part  of  it  having  been  given  to  relig- 
ious services,  the  rest  may  not  be  taken  for 
amusement,  after  the  manner  of  the  Roman 
Catholics.  No  doubt  a  part  of  each  Lord's  day 
should  be  given  to  rest  and  recreation ;  but  it 
must  be  such  rest  and  recreation  as  will  not  de- 
stroy the  religious  influences  of  the  day.  One 
seventh  of  the  time  is  none  too  much  to  devote 
unreservedly  to  the  welfare  of  the  soul.  How 
much  religious  influence  will  remain  from  a  day 
the  larger  part  of  which  has  been  spent  in  the 
eager  pursuit  of  worldly  pleasure  ?  No  doubt 
the  over-worked  and  over-anxious  American  peo- 
ple need  more  time  for  recreation  than  they  are 
accustomed  to  take ;  but  it  does  not  follow  that 
they  should  steal  the  time  from  the  Lord,  or 
from  their  own  souls.  The  true  method  is  to 
take  time  for  necessary  recreation  during  the 
week  and  keep  the  Lord's  day  intact  for  relig- 
ious purposes.  With  the  vast  resources,  the 
abundant   provisions    and   the    labor-saving   ma- 

(99) 


326    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

chinery  of  this  country,  very  few  need  to  work 
more  than  five  or  five  and  a  half  days  in  a  week. 
This  would  be  sufficient  for  the  commonest  laborer 
to  earn  a  livelihood,  if  he  were  paid  proper  wages  ; 
and  some  of  the  evils  of  over-production,  about 
which  we  hear  so  much  in  times  of  business  de- 
pression, would  be  diminished  by  such  a  custom. 
The  time  thus  gained  could  be  used  for  recrea- 
tion or  mental  improvement,  and  Sunday  would 
be  left  free  for  religious  purposes.  The  Satur- 
day half-holiday  movement  ought  to  receive  the 
support  of  all  who  seek  the  welfare  of  their  fel- 
low men.  Wherever  it  is  possible  for  them  to 
do  it,  employers  should  give  this  time  without  a 
decrease  of  wages. 

Another  very  important  reason  why  it  is  for- 
bidden to  use  the  Lord's  day  for  pleasure-seeking 
is  that  such  a  course  generally  deprives  others  of 
the  privilege  of  properly  enjoying  it.  If  some 
go  upon  the  Sunday  excursion,  others,  w^ho  run 
the  cars  and  the  steamboats  and  keep  the  places 
of  refreshment,  must  work,  in  violation  of  their 
right  to  rest,  and  perhaps  of  their  principles.  If 
some  have  their  Sunday  paper,  others  must  labor 
seven  days  in  a  week.  The  big  Sunday  dinner 
or  the  evening  party  compels  the  servants  to 
work  as  hard  on  Sunday  as  on  other  days.     The 

spirit  of  that  old  Hebrew  law  to  do  no  cooking 
(100) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day.      327 

on  the  Sabbath,  in  order  that  the  servants  of  the 
household  might  rest,  seems  to  be  quite  forgotten 
in  our  day.  We  boast  of  our  humanity  and  of 
our  sympathy  with  laboring  people,  but  in  this 
matter  we  are  far  behind  the  old  Hebrews  of 
three  thousand  years  ago.  The  justice  and 
mercy  toward  servants,  which  they  were  taught 
to  exercise,  are  swallowed  up  in  the  selfishness 
of  our  times.  We  must  gratify  our  appetites 
even  at  the  expense  of  the  rights  and  welfare 
of  those  who  serve  us.  It  is  true  of  many  of 
our  Sunday  pleasures  that  they  can  be  obtained 
only  by  depriving  others  of  their  Sabbath.  Even 
when  we  indulge  on  the  Lord's  day  in  that  which 
does  not  require  the  service  of  others,  we  often 
interfere  with  their  enjoyment  of  it,  by  destroy- 
ing the  quiet  and  peacefulness  which  it  ought  to 
have.  But  we  do  the  greatest  wrong  to  those 
who  render  us  unnecessary  service  on  that  day. 
It  may  be  said  that  if  they  render  the  service 
voluntarily  and  we  pay  them  for  it,  no  wrong  is 
done.  This  is  but  a  specious  plea.  Money  is 
no  adequate  compensation  to  those  who  violate 
the  Sabbath  on  our  account.  For  money  men 
have  bartered  their  dearest  treasures;  women 
have  sold  their  virtue  and  men  their  honor.  In 
these  cases  does  the  payment  of  money  render 
the  purchasers  guiltless  ?     When  we  hire  others 

(101) 


328    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath, 

to  break  the  Sabbath  for  us,  we  become  not  only 
Sabbath-breakers,  but  corrupters  of  mankind.  We 
are  guilty  of  a  double  sin. 

Thus  there  are  two  important  reasons  for  the 
divine  prohibition  against  pleasure-seeking  on  the 
Lord's  day.  The  first  is  that  it  defeats  the  pur- 
poses of  the  Sabbath,  especially  the  great  purpose 
of  promoting  man's  religious  welfare.  The  second 
is  that  its  general  tendency  is  to  deprive  others 
of  the  right  to  enjoy  the  Sabbath.  We  have 
found  that  substantially  the  same  reasons  exist 
for  the  law  against  labor  for  gain  or  any  worldly 
end  on  that  day.     We  must  pass  now  to  consider 

II.  Things  Allowable  on  the  Lord's  Day. — 
This  division  seems  necessary  because  every 
possible  action  on  the  Sabbath  cannot  be  class- 
ified as  prohibited  or  required.  Some  things  are 
allowable  at  one  time  and  prohibited  at  another. 
Peculiar  circumstances  may  justify  a  course  of 
action  on  the  Lord's  day  without  making  it  obli- 
gatory. And  then,  there  are  classes  of  actions 
which  one  may  or  may  not  perform  and  still 
keep  the  Sabbath  holy.  Of  things  allowable  it 
is  necessary  to  mention  only  those  which  are 
most  likely  to  enter  into  the  life  of  the  ordinary 
individual. 

1.  First  among  them  are  works  of  necessity. 
These   are  labors  which  are  necessary  to   save 

(102) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day,      329 

human  life  or  health,  or  to  rescue  property  from 
impending  destruction.  There  can  be  no  ques- 
tion that  any  amount  of  labor  to  save  life  would 
be  justifiable  on  the  Sabbath.  Indeed,  we  might 
have  classed  such  work  under  things  required, 
but  for  the  fact  that  it  is  required  on  all  days 
alike.  It  is  equally  clear  that  we  are  permitted 
to  do  whatever  is  necessary  for  the  restoration 
of  health  to  the  sick.  They  must  have  medical 
attendance  and  nursing  on  the  Lord's  day  the 
same  as  on  other  days,  and  often  the  labors  of 
those  who  care  for  them  are  heavy  and  arduous. 
But  who  can  doubt  that  such  labors  are  not  only 
justifiable,  but  that  the  omission  of  them  would 
be  a  sin  ?  The  question  might  fairly  be  raised 
whether  physicians  and  others  who  attend  the 
sick  should  not  refuse  to  take  pay  for  what  they 
do  on  the  Lord's  day.  It  is  a  question  which 
they  must  answer  for  themselves.  Perhaps  if 
physicians  undertook  to  do  their  Sunday  work 
gratuitously,  they  would  find  it  impossible  on 
account  of  a  consequent  tendency  of  people  to 
make  that  the  day  for  all  their  sicknesses.  But 
whether  it  be  done  as  a  work  of  mercy  or  as 
"  business,"  all  necessary  care  of  the  sick  is  al- 
lowable on  the  Lord's  day. 

Careful  discrimination  ought  to  be  made  with 
reference   to   work  for  the   saving  of  property. 

(103) 


330    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

That  it  is  justifiable  to  a  certain  extent  seems 
to  be  clear  from  the  teaching  of  our  Saviour. 
When  he  asked  the  ruler  of  the  synagogue,  who 
accused  him  of  violating  the  Sabbath  because  he 
had  healed  that  day  an  afflicted  woman,  "Doth 
not  each  one  of  you  on  the  sabbath  loose  his  ox 
or  his  ass  from  the  stall,  and  lead  him  away  to 
watering?"*  he  certainly  approved  their  doing 
so ;  for  otherwise  there  would  have  been  no  force 
in  his  argument.  If  property  were  being  de- 
stroyed on  Sunday  by  fire  or  flood,  no  one  could 
doubt  the  right  of  the  owner  and  his  friends  to 
put  forth  every  effort  to  save  it.  Domestic  an- 
imals must  be  cared  for  on  the  Lord's  day,  lest 
they  suffer  pain  and  their  owners  be  subjected  to 
loss.  In  some  kinds  of  business  a  certain  amount 
of  routine  work  must  be  done  on  Sunday.  For 
example,  on  dairy  farms  the  cows  must  be  milked 
and  some  disposition  must  be  made  of  the  product. 
In  some  kinds  of  manufacturing  the  work  cannot 
wholly  stop  on  Sunday,  lest  large  quantities  of 
goods  be  damaged  or  destroyed.  In  every  house- 
hold some  work  must  be  done  on  the  Lord's  -day. 
Many  other  instances  might  be  mentioned  in 
which  Sunday  work  seems  necessary,  and  there- 
fore allowable.     In  all  such  cases  the  law  is  that 

*  Luke  13:  15. 
(104) 


Method  of  Ohserving  the  Lord's  Day.      331 

only  necessary  work  should  be  donp.  Many  claim 
that  work  is  necessary,  when  the  necessity  is  cre- 
ated wholly  by  their  own  inordinate  desire  for 
gain.  Because  Christ  said,  "  Which  of  you  shall 
have  an  ass  or  an  ox  fallen  into  a  pit,  and  will 
not  straightway  pull  him  out  on  the  sabbath 
day  ?"  *  and  thus  approved  such  an  action,  they 
claim  that,  no  matter  by  what  means  property 
is  jeopardized,  it  is  right  to  work  on  Sunday  to 
save  it.  For  example,  a  farmer  will  cut  down  a 
quantity  of  hay  or  grain  on  Saturday  and  claim 
that  it  must  be  taken  up  on  Sunday  to  keep  it 
from  spoiling.  It  is  evident  that  a  little  calcula- 
tion, or  a  slight  sacrifice  in  delaying  his  work, 
w^ould  have  obviated  the  necessity.  But  here 
we  open  the  very  broad  question  of  what  is  nec- 
essary work.  It  is  claimed  that  the  methods,  the 
extent  and  the  complications  of  modern  business, 
and  the  crowding  of  vast  numbers  of  people  to- 
gether in  the  cities,  make  absolutely  necessary  a 
great  amount  of  work  on  the  Lord's  day.  The 
horse-cars,  the  cars  on  the  elevated  roads,  and 
the  steam-cars,  must  run  to  accommodate  church- 
goers and  excursionists.  Drug-stores  and  groce- 
ries must  remain  open,  and  milkmen  and  bakers 
and  icemen  must  go  their  regular  rounds,  in  order 


*  Luke  14  :  5. 

(105) 


332    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

that  people  may  have  the  necessaries  of  life.  We 
must  have  our  Sunday  dailies ;  and  so  editors, 
compositors,  pressmen  and  newsdealers  must 
work  seven  days  in  a  week.  The  amount  of 
freight  to  be  carried  on  the  railroads  is  so  great 
that  much  of  it  must  be  moved  on  Sunday,  when 
the  ordinary  number  of  passenger  trains  is  dimin- 
ished. So  many  people  are  willing  to  save  time 
by  travelling  on  Sunday  that  the  managers  of  the 
roads  find  it  necessary  to  favor  the  public,  for 
whose  service  they  live,  with  a  few  Sunday 
trains.  We  might  add  almost  indefinitely  to  the 
apparent  necessities  for  Sunday  labor  which  have 
arisen  in  our  modern  civilization.  The  question 
which  every  man  who  seeks  to  obey  God's  law 
must  ask  himself  is,  How  much  of  this  work  is 
really  necessary?  Any  one  who  gives  to  the 
matter  honest  consideration  must  be  convinced 
that  in  almost  every  case  the  so-called  necessity 
grows  out  of  a  desire  for  pleasure  or  for  gain 
which  makes  those  who  are  ruled  by  it  unwilling 
to  give  the  Lord  one  seventh  of  the  time.  Few 
indeed  are  the  cases  in  which  the  plea  of  neces- 
sity is  not  a  lie.  It  is  better  to  use  plain  lan- 
guage on  this  subject,  for  many  good,  conscien- 
tious people  who  would  like  to  see  the  Lord's 
day  properly  observed  are  deceived  by  this  spe- 
cious plea.     So  many  and  great  are  the  violations 

(106) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day,      333 

of  the  Sabbath  which  are  excused  or  justified  by 
false  claims  of  necessity,  and  so  far-reaching  and 
pernicious  is  their  influence,  that  we  must  con- 
sider the  matter  somewhat  in  detail. 

The  worst  case  of  this  kind  is  the  Sunday  news- 
paper. Nothing  is  better  calculated  to  destroy 
the  sanctity  and  restfulness  of  the  Sabbath  than 
the  publication  of  these  papers,  and  they  are  en- 
tirely without  excuse.  The  plea  that  they  are 
necessary  is  not  worthy  of  serious  consideration, 
and  few  newspaper  proprietors  have  the  hardihood 
to  make  it.  The  most  that  they  can  say  is  that 
the  public  "  demand  "  Sunday  newspapers.  This 
is  only  half  true ;  and  even  if  it  were  wholly  true 
it  would  not  justify  their  publication.  Because 
there  is  a  "  public  "  that  wants  obscene  literature 
it  does  not  follow  that  the  publication  and  sale  of 
obscene  literature  should  be  tolerated.  The  same 
argument  applies  to  the  Sunday  newspaper.  The 
simple  and  obvious  fact  is  that  the  only  reason 
for  publishing  Sunday  newspapers  is  to  make 
money.  There  is  no  necessity  in  the  case.  But 
it  may  be  asked.  What  are  the  objections  to  the 
Sunday  newspapers  ?  There  are  many  and  seri- 
ous objections  to  them,  only  a  few  of  which  can 
be  here  presented. 

The  first  objection  is  that  they  deprive  thou- 
sands of  persons  of  their  Sabbath  by  compelling 

(107) 


334    Nature  and  Lnportance  of  the  Sahhath. 

them  to  work  seven  days  in  a  ^Yeek.  This  work 
extends  far  beyond  the  offices  from  which  the 
papers  are  issued.  It  includes  editors,  reporters, 
type-setters,  pressmen,  mailing-agents,  carriers, 
newsdealers,  newsboys  and  many  others.  It  does 
not  meet  the  case  at  all  to  say  that  in  the  offices 
of  many  seven-day  papers  the  men  are  allowed 
one  day  a  week  for  rest,  for  they  are  only  a 
small  part  of  those  who  are  compelled  to  work  on 
Sunday.  The  plea  is  commonly  put  forth  that  it 
is  not  the  Sunday,  but  the  Monday  morning, 
paper  which  necessitates  Sunday  work.  This  is 
not  true.  If  no  paper  were  issued  on  Sunday, 
Saturday  would  be  free  for  work  on  the  Monday 
paper,  and  most  of  the  work  for  it  could  be  done 
before  ten  o'clock  Saturday  night.  What  re- 
mained could  be  done  after  ten  o'clock  Sunday 
night.  Thus  the  whole  twenty-four  hours  of  the 
Lord's  day  could  be  free  from  work,  and  the  priv- 
ilege of  attending  church  would  be  undisturbed. 
Newspaper-men  themselves  admit*  that  this  is 
the  case,  and  thus  out  of  their  own  mouths  are 
they  condemned. 

A  second  and  more  serious  objection  to  Sunday 

*  See  the  New  York  Tribune,  November  15,  1871,  the  Chicago 

Baily  News,  August  12,  1884,  and  an  address  by  J.  L.  Perry,  of 

the  Cincinnati  Gazette,  published  in  the  International  Sabbath 

Association  Reporter,  No.  4,  May,  1882.    Others  might  be  cited. 

(108) 


Method  of  Ohserving  the  Lord's  Day.      335 

newspapers  is  that,  in  substance  and  in  spirit, 
they  are  directly  antagonistic  to  the  right  observ- 
ance of  the  Lord's  day.  The  mere  fact  that  they 
are  published  and  scattered  over  the  country 
tends  to  obliterate  the  distinction  which  ought  to 
be  maintained  between  Sunday  and  other  days. 
Instead  of  directing  the  minds  of  their  readers 
away  from  those  things  with  which  they  have 
been  occupied  during  the  week,  Sunday  news- 
papers force  upon  their  attention  the  same  class 
of  subjects.  Thus  they  violate  the  sanctity  of 
the  day,  and  prevent  minds  already  jaded  with 
worldly  affairs  from  gaining  necessary  change  and 
rest.  The  reading  of  them  unfits  the  mind  for 
any  religious  exercises,  and  in  many  cases  occu- 
pies the  time  which  ought  to  be  spent  at  church. 
Another  serious  objection  lies  against  Sunday 
newspapers  on  account  of  their  contents.  The 
statement,  which  is  often  made  in  their  defence, 
that  they  contain  a  vast  amount  of  religious  read- 
ing, will  appear  absurd  and  ridiculous  to  any  one 
who  examines  their  contents.  Some  of  the  vilest 
sheets  published  in  this  country  are  Sunday 
newspapers.  Are  the  Sunday  issues  of  the  great 
dailies  morally  better  than  their  ordinary  issues  ? 
Every  one  knows  that  the  newspaper  reflects, 
not  the  best  but  the  worst  side  of  human  life. 
Murders,  suicides,  robberies,  thefts,  rapes,  adul- 

(109) 


336    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath, 

teries,  elopements,  divorces,  drunken  rows,  family- 
quarrels,  scandals,  frauds,  embezzlements,  acci- 
dents, fires,  theatres,  horse-races,  and  other  sub- 
jects of  the  same  kind,  expatiated  upon  at  great 
length  and  described  with  the  most  fervid  rhet- 
oric, constitute  the  staple  of  these  papers.  The 
weekly  Sunday  papers  usually  contain  sensa- 
tional stories  of  the  worst  character.  And  this 
is  the  kind  of  reading  with  which  men  are  asked 
to  quicken  their  devotion  on  Sunday  ! 

After  the  best  has  been  said  for  them,  it  still 
remains  true  that  Sunday  newspapers  are  unmit- 
igated evils.  Those  who  publish  them,  those  who 
sell  them,  those  who  advertise  in  them,  and  those 
who  buy  and  read  them,  are  all  guilty  of  violating 
the  Sabbath. 

Another  serious  and  destructive  violation  of 
the  Sabbath  is  that  occasioned  by  the  running  of 
Sunday  trains  on  our  railroads.  This  is  an  evil 
second  only  to  that  of  the  Sunday  newspaper; 
in  some  respects  it  is  a  greater  evil.  Here  too  a 
vast  number  of  men,  not  less  than  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  in  this  country  alone,  are  de- 
prived of  their  Sabbath  rest.  But  the  worst  of 
it  is  that  their  moral  sense  is  broken  down.  Men 
who  have  charge  of  vast  interests  and  property 
worth  countless  millions  are  taught  to  violate  the 
moral  law.  Most  of  the  railroads  and  newspapers 
(110) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day.      337 

of  our  land  are  putting  a  premium  on  Sabbath- 
breaking,  and  are  practically  announcing  that  they 
do  not  want  Christians  in  their  employ.  The 
movement  of  trains  from  town  to  town  on  Sunday 
destroys  the  quiet  of  the  day,  and  creates  the 
impression  on  the  minds  of  the  people  that  the 
Sabbath  is  obliterated.  The  running  of  Sunday 
trains  encourages  and  promotes  Sunday  travel  and 
Sunday  excursions,  and  thus  tends  directly  to  the 
destruction  of  the  Sabbath  among  the  people. 

The  cause  of  this  evil  is  justified  on  the  plea 
of  necessity.  It  is  claimed  that  not  only  do  the 
public  demand  Sunday  passenger  trains,  but  that 
great  and  irreparable  loss  would  be  occasioned  by 
stopping  freight  trains  on  Sunday.  Prominent 
railroad  men  have  admitted*  that  the  plea  of 
necessity  is  not  well  founded.  President  Samuel 
Sloan,  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and  Western 
Railroad,  says,  "  In  my  judgment  the  necessity 
so  much  urged  does  not  exist,  nor  do  the  public 
demand  from  railroad  management  more  than 
ordinary  labor."  They  all  admit  that  the  running 
of  Sunday  trains  is  largely  the  result  of  compe- 
tition, and  that  if  the  managers  of  the  different 
roads  would  come  to  an  agreement  on  the  subject 
the  amount  of   Sunday  traffic  might  be  largely 

*  See  the  pamphlet  entitled  "  Sunday  Railway  Work"  for  a 
statement  of  their  opinions  in  full. 

22  (HI) 


338    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

diminished.  The  cases  of  necessary  Sunday 
travel  are  very  few,  certainly  not  enough  to 
justify  the  running  of  trains.  It  is  claimed  that 
if  through  trains  which  require  more  than  twenty- 
four  hours  to  complete  their  trips  should  lie  over 
all  day  Sunday,  passengers  would  be  subjected  to 
loss  of  time  and  heavy  expenses.  People  lose  a 
day  from  worldly  occupations  wherever  they  keep 
Sunday,  and  this  plea  only  shows  that  those  who 
make  it  want  to  rob  the  Lord  of  his  day.  As  to 
the  matter  of  expense,  few  would  need  to  incur 
it,  for  they  would  not  be  obliged  to  start  upon  a 
journey  which  they  could  not  complete  before 
Sunday  morning. 

It  may  be  that  a  few  trains  carrying  perishable 
freight  would  have  to  be  run  on  Sunday,  but  they 
would  be  very  few.  Ordinarily  there  is  no  neces- 
sity for  shipping  such  freight  so  late  in  the  week 
that  it  cannot  reach  its  destination  before  Satur- 
day night.  The  fact  is,  if  the  managers  of  rail- 
roads, and  the  people  who  patronize  the  roads, 
were  minded  to  observe  the  Lord's  day,  there 
would  be  no  real  difficulty  in  the  case.  It  might 
occasion  at  times  some  inconvenience,  but  conven- 
ience is  not  necessity.  That  Sunday  trains  are  not 
necessary  to  the  prosperity  of  a  railroad  is  proved 
by  the  case  of  the  Delaware,  Lackawanna  and 
Western.     Under  the  influence  of  the  late  Will- 

(112) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day.      339 

iam  E.  Dodge  and  President  Sloan,  it  has  always 
refused  to  run  Sunday  trains,  but  from  the  begin- 
ning of  its  history  it  has  been  one  of  the  most 
prosperous  roads  in  the  country.  When,  in  1873, 
the  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey  decided  to 
run  Sunday  trains,  Mr.  Dodge  retired  from  its 
management  and  sold  out  his  stock,  getting  a  high 
premium.  In  less  than  two  years  the  road  was 
bankrupt^  its  stock  selling  for  ten  cents  on  a 
dollar.  We  do  not  claim  that  this  bankruptcy  was 
a  penalty  for  Sabbath-breaking,  but  it  shows  that 
Sunday  trains  do  not  make  a  road  prosperous. 

We  do  not  see  how  a  Christian  man  can  con- 
sistently own  stock  in  a  railroad  that  runs  un- 
necessary trains  on  Sunday,  or  take  any  part  in 
its  management,  or  act  as  one  of  its  employes. 
Some  good  men  do  it,  but  it  would  be  better  for 
their  souls  and  better  for  the  world  if  they  re- 
fused. The  fact  is,  such  a  refusal  unanimously 
made  by  Christians  would  put  a  complete  stop  to 
Sunday  railroad  traffic.  We  need  more  courage 
and  consistency  in  this  matter.  One  of  the  most 
shameless  things  connected  with  the  running  of 
Sunday  trains  is  that  the  managers  and  patrons 
of  camp-meetings  sometimes  ask  for  them.  No 
Christian  man  ought  ever  to  be  seen  in  a  railway 
car  on  Sunday.  This  may  seem  like  a  stringent 
rule  \  but  this  gigantic  evil  will  never   be   sup- 

(113) 


340    Nature  and  Importaiice  of  the  Sahhaih. 

pressed  so  long  as  professed  Christians  encourage 
its  continuance  by  their  patronage.* 

Another  form  of  Sunday  work  for  which  a  false 
plea  of  necessity  is  made  is  that  occasioned  by 
the  Sunday  mails.  In  this  country  they  compel 
not  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  per- 
sons to  lose  the  whole  or  a  part  of  their  Sunday 
rest.  They  disturb  the  rest  of  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands more  by  keeping  up  the  steady  flow  of 
business  and  mental  activity  directed  to  secular 
ends,  among  those  who  write  and  receive  letters 
on  Sunday.  For  this  work  there  is  really  as 
little  necessity  as  there  is  for  Sunday  newspapers 
or  Sunday  trains.  If  not  a  letter  were  posted, 
carried  or  delivered  on  Sunday,  no  interest  of  the 
country  would  suffer.  Practical  and  conclusive 
proof  of  this  is  found  in  the  fact  that  in  London, 
England,  the  great  business  centre  of  the  world, 
letters  are  not  gathered  or  delivered  on  Sunday ; 
and  in  Toronto,  Canada,  there  is  a  total  cessation 
of  post-office  business  without  sensible  inconven- 
ience to  any  one.  It  is  sometimes  urged  that  in 
cases  of  sickness  or  in  business  crises  it  is  import- 
ant that  letters  should  go  as  quickly  as  possible. 
But  in  such  cases  the  telegraph  can  be  used  on 
Saturday  or  Monday,  and  the  message  reach  its 


*  See  Appendix  E. 
(114) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day,      341 

destination  more  quickly  than  a  letter  would, 
even  if  it  were  carried  and  delivered  on  Sunday. 
Since  there  is  no  real  necessity  in  the  case,  the 
government  ought  to  abolish  the  Sunday  mails. 
It  has  no  right  to  force  its  employes  to  work  on 
Sunday.  It  has  no  right  to  allow  the  force  of  its 
example  to  act  against  the  observance  of  the 
Lord's  day,  and  so  against  the  Christian  religion. 
But  the  people  also  have  a  duty  in  the  matter. 
They  ought  not  to  make  use  of  the  Sunday  mails 
nor  go  to  the  post-office,  but  refuse  to  have  their 
letters  delivered  on  Sunday. 

Much  of  the  so-called  necessary  work  of  cities 
is  really  unnecessary.  This  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  in  Toronto  there  is  an  almost  total  cessation 
of  all  kinds  of  work  without  inconvenience  to  any 
one.  It  is  claimed  that  the  running  of  street- 
cars is  a  necessity  ;  but  is  this  true  ?  Their  only 
legitimate  service  on  Sunday  is  to  carry  people 
to  and  from  church.  But  how  many  people  are 
really  obliged  to  go  to  church  in  the  horse-cars  ? 
It  will  generally  be  found  on  inquiry  that  those 
who  do  use  them  for  that  purpose  go  directly  by 
a  church  of  their  own  faith,  in  order  to  reach  a 
favorite  church  which  is  farther  from  their  homes. 
How  many  families  are  there,  even  among  the 
poor  of  the  great  cities,  that  could  not  store  all 
necessary  provisions  over  Sunday  ?     It  is  a  little 

(iif)) 


342    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

easier  and  a  little  pleasanter  to  purchase  on  Sun- 
day, but  the  maximum  of  ease  and  pleasure  is 
not  a  necessity.  If  drugs  must  be  procured  on 
Sunday,  why  could  they  not  be  obtained  only 
on  a  physician's  prescription,  and  the  drug-store 
opened  only  in  answer  to  a  bell  ?  We  have  re- 
ferred to  those  cases  in  which  the  plea  of  necessity 
is  most  strongly  urged,  and  need  not  particularize 
further.  The  simple  fact  is,  if  ninety-nine  hun- 
dredths of  the  Sunday  labor  and  traffic  in  our 
cities  should  be  stopped,  people  could  soon  adjust 
themselves  to  the  new  conditions,  and  would  be 
in  no  respect  the  worse  for  the  change.  If  every 
one  really  desired  to  obey  the  law  of  God  and  to 
see  others  obey  it,  these  "  necessities  "  for  Sun- 
day work  w^ould  soon  disappear.  But  the  major- 
ity have  not  this  desire,  and  they  make  our  busi- 
ness and  social  arrangements.  What  shall  the 
minority  who  would  keep  the  Sabbath  do  ?  They 
are  so  bound  to  their  neighbors  that  it  is  hard  not 
to  conform  in  some  degree  to  their  habits.  The 
only  rule  that  can  be  laid  down  for  them  is,  to 
give  the  least  possible  support  and  countenance 
to  Sunday  work.  In  respect  to  particular  cases 
the  individual  conscience  must  be  the  guide.  It 
should  be  remembered  that  only  works  of  neces- 
sity, not  work  for  gain  or  for  pleasure  or  to  meet 
fictitious  wants,  are  allowed  by  the  law  of  God. 

(116) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day.      343 

Persons  who  really  desire  to  keep  the  Lord's 
day  sacred  are  often  puzzled  to  know  whether 
work  which  they  must  do  in  order  to  retain  the 
positions  in  which  they  earn  a  living  for  them- 
selves and  their  families  may  not  fairly  be  ac- 
counted necessary  work.  In  thousands  of  cases 
the  alternative  is  placed  before  employes  to  work 
on  Sunday  or  to  be  thrown  out  of  work  altogether. 
When  to  be  thrown  out  of  v\ork  means  to  lose 
one's  only  visible  means  of  support,  the  case  is  a 
hard  one.  What  ought  one  to  do  in  such  a  case  ? 
It  is  clear  that  a  Christian  ought  never  to  accept 
a  situation  which  he  knows  beforehand  will  in- 
volve Sunday  work.  But  if  he  is  already  in  the 
place  and  the  work  comes  upon  him,  shall  he  give 
it  up  and  take  the  chances  of  starvation  ?  If  he 
has  a  little  Christian  heroism  and  considerable 
faith,  that  is  just  what  he  will  do.  But  if  his 
strength  is  not  equal  to  that,  let  no  one  condemn 
him.  Perhaps  he  cannot  see  that  it  is  not  neces- 
sary for  him  to  have  bread,  but  that  it  is  necessary 
for  him  to  keep  his  integrity  before  God.  How- 
ever, he  may  be  assured  that  if  he  obeys  his  con- 
science he  will  not  suffer.  Hundreds  of  inquiries 
have  been  made,  and  no  case  has  ever  yet  been 
found  in  which  one  suffered  permanent  injury  or 
loss  because  he  refused  to  work  on  Sunday. 
Such  a  man  may  be  subject  to  temporary  incon- 

(117) 


344    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

venience,  but  the  final  result  will  be  the  better- 
ment of  his  condition.  Let  every  man  who  is 
thus  tried  be  very  sure  that  the  work  is  really 
necessary  before  he  engages  in  it. 

'2.  Our  Saviour  tauyht  that  work  connected  with 
the  conduct  of  public  tuorship  and  with  attendance  on 
it  is  allowable  on  the  Sabbath.  In  answer  to  the 
charge  of  the  Pharisees,  he  asked,  "  Have  ye  not 
read  in  the  law,  how  that  on  the  sabbath  days  the 
priests  in  the  temple  profane  the  sabbath,  and  are 
blameless?"*  In  modern  churches  the  pastor 
must  do  his  hardest  day's  work  on  the  Sabbath. 
The  sexton  must  work  in  order  to  have  the  house 
of  God  ready  for  the  people.  In  many  cases  a 
certain  amount  of  work  must  be  done  in  getting 
to  the  place  of  worship.  But  all  this  is  permitted, 
because  without  it  the  highest  ends  of  the  Sab- 
bath could  not  be  reached. 

3.  Such  rest  and  recreation  as  may  he  necessary 
to  the  preservation  of  health  are  certainly  allowable 
on  the  Lord's  day.  Here  again  we  are  upon 
ground  over  which  it  is  difficult  to  make  our  way. 
But  since  the  original  idea  of  the  Sabbath  was 
rest,  it  cannot  be  wrong  for  us  to  use  for  that 
purpose  all  of  it  that  may  be  needed.  If  one  can 
best  recruit  his  wasted  energies  by  a  little  extra 

*  Matthew  12  :  5. 
(118) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day.      345 

sleep  on  that  clay,  let  him  take  it.  If  one  is  shut 
up  in  a  mill  or  a  store  or  an  office  all  the  week,  so 
that  what  he  needs  is  a  few  hours  in  the  open 
air,  let  him  take  a  walk  along  a  country  road,  if 
he  can  find  one,  or  in  the  woods  or  in  a  park ; 
only  let  him  do  it  in  an  orderly  and  decent 
manner,  trespassing  upon  no  one's  property  and 
indulging  in  no  rude  and  boisterous  behavior. 
If  he  go  alone,  let  him  meditate  on  things  appro- 
priate to  the  day ;  or  if  he  have  company,  let  the 
conversation  be  of  suitable  matters.  In  some 
cases  invalids  and  those  not  able  to  walk  may 
have  need  of  riding  on  the  Lord's  day.  If  they 
go  only  for  health,  and  if  no  other  day  can  be 
found  for  the  purpose,  they  can  go  with  a  clear 
conscience.  In  all  such  cases,  the  only  objection 
to  be  considered  is  the  influence  which  one's 
action  may  have  on  the  conduct  of  others  or 
upon  one's  own  reputation.  If  it  is  likely  to  be 
misinterpreted,  he  must  judge  for  himself  whether 
the  benefit  will  counterbalance  the  evil. 

Perhaps  these  hints  with  regard  to  what  is 
allowable  on  the  Lord's  day  are  sufficient.  As 
stated  at  the  outset,  definite  and  precise  rules 
cannot  be  given.     We  must  pass  now  to  consider 

III.  Things  Required  on  the  Lord's  Day. — 
There  are  positive  duties  connected  with  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Sabbath.   As  we  discovered  in  studying 

(119) 


846    Nature  and  Imporiance  of  the  Sabbath. 

the  nature  of  the  institution,  the  day  is  not  prop- 
erly observed  by  one  who  spends  it  in  idleness. 

1.  Among  the  first  of  these  positive  duties  is 
that  of  engaging  in  public  tvorship.  Unless  it  is 
absolutely  impossible,  every  person  should  spend 
a  part  of  every  Lord's  day  with  the  people  of 
God  in  his  sanctuary.  No  one  who  believes  in 
the  existence  of  God  can  question  the  duty  of 
public  w^orship.  It  is  a  duty  which  we  owe  to 
him  as  the  Creator  and  Sovereign  of  the  universe. 
Private  worship  is  not  enough,  since  we  are  under 
obligation  to  exalt  his  holy  name  before  all  his 
intelligent  creatures.  It  is  a  duty  which  we  owe 
to  ourselves.  It  is  a  duty  which  we  owe  to 
others.  All  who  are  regular  at  the  house  of  God 
exert  a  salutary  influence  upon  the  world  by 
their  example.  They  remind  the  ungodly  of 
their  religious  duties,  and  indirectly  preach  the 
gospel  of  Christ  every  time  they  go  to  the  place 
of  public  worship.  We  can  do  nothing  better  for 
the  irreligious  than  to  exert  upon  them  such  an 
influence.  The  more  carefully  one  considers  it, 
the  more  thoroughly  he  will  become  convinced 
that  the  duty  of  public  worship  is  among  the 
most  important  duties  of  every  human  being. 

The  only  available  time  for  this — the  only 
time  when  the  people  of  any  community  can 
unitedly  engage  in  it — is  the  Lord's  day,  when 

(120) 


Method  of  Ohserving  the  Lord's  Day,      347 

there  is  a  cessation  in  the  ordinary  avocations  of 
life.  How  much  of  the  day  shall  be  used  for  this 
purpose  every  person  must  determine  for  himself. 
Few  are  in  danger  of  spending  too  much  in  this 
way,  though  occasionally  that  error  is  committed. 
Perhaps  in  ordinary  cases,  one  half  the  hours  of 
the  Lord's  day  should  be  spent  in  public  worship 
and  in  the  study  of  God's  word  in  the  Bible- 
school.  This  is  meant  as  a  general  average; 
circumstances  will  often  compel  wide  deviations 
from  it.  When  we  speak  of  spending  one  half 
the  hours  of  the  Lord's  day  in  public  religious 
exercises,  we  must  not  be  understood  as  advocat- 
ing the  "  once-a-day "  habit  of  church  attendance, 
much  less  the  habit  pursued  by  the  Roman 
Catholics,  of  giving  the  forenoon  to  religion  and 
the  afternoon  to  the  pursuit  of  pleasure.  But 
suppose  the  day  to  consist  of  fourteen  hours, 
then  seven  of  them  might  be  profitably  spent  in 
religious  meetings  and  in  going  to  and  from  the 
house  of  God.  This  is  about  the  time  required 
to  attend  three  services.  Some,  owing  to  feeble 
health  or  domestic  duties,  cannot  attend  so  many. 
In  some  cases  religious  work  of  other  kinds  may 
present  itself  as  a  higher  duty.  These  are  among 
the  circumstances  which  modify  the  application 
of  a  rule  which  we  have  simply  suggested  as  a 
good  general  rule  for  healthy,  unencumbered  per- 

(121) 


348    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

sons.  While  here  and  there  a  misguided  person 
desires  to  spend  the  whole  day  in  religious  assem- 
blies, and  is  thus  in  danger  of  religious  dissipation, 
the  great  majority  are  unwilling  to  spend  one 
half  the  day  in  this  manner.  But  one  who  has 
spent  no  part  of  it  in  public  worship,  and  who  has 
not  been  prevented  by  higher  duties,  may  be  sure 
that  he  has  not  properly  obserA^ed  the  Lord's  day. 
2.  Another  thing  which  is  required  on  the 
Lord's  day  is  religious  ivork.  What  form  this 
shall  take  and  how  much  of  it  shall  be  done  must 
be  determined  by  circumstances.  Teaching  in 
the  Bible-school  is  religious  work.  Presenting 
to  the  unconverted  the  claims  of  Christ  in  per- 
sonal conversation  is  religious  Avork.  Distribut- 
ing Bibles  or  tracts  is  religious  work.  One  very 
important  duty  appropriate  to  the  Lord's  day  is 
that  of  giving  religious  instruction  to  the  children 
of  the  household  by  the  parents.  As  Sunday 
should  be  emphatically  a  family  day,  it  will  be 
appropriate  in  this  connection  to  speak  somewhat 
fully  of  the  manner  in  w^hich  it  should  be  observed 
in  the  family.  This  part  of  our  subject  is  of 
transcendent  importance.  More  depends  upon  how 
Sunday  shall  be  used  in  the  family  than  upon  its 
use  in  any  other  relation.  It  is  here  that  chil- 
dren are  to  get  their  ideas  of  its  proper  observ- 
ance ;  it  is  here  more  than  anywhere  else  that 

(122) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day,      349 

the  Sabbath  as  a  religious  and  national  institution 
is  to  be  preserved.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Sab- 
bath may  be  so  great  a  blessing  to  the  family 
that  nothing  should  be  allowed  to  interfere  with 
its  proper  use.  Every  household  should  insist 
on  having  it  for  a  family  day,  and  should  not 
allow  the  enjoyment  of  its  privileges  or  the  per- 
formance of  its  duties  to  be  interfered  with  by 
visiting  or  any  other  disturbance. 

In  the  family  the  difference  between  Sunday 
and  other  days  should  be  made  as  marked  as 
possible.  All  necessary  preparation  for  the 
proper  observance  of  the  day,  such  as  setting 
the  house  in  order,  getting  the  clothes  ready  and 
bathing,  should  be  made  on  Saturday.  No  un- 
necessary work  should  be  allowed  in  the  house- 
hold. So  flir  as  possible  the  atmosphere  of  the 
day  should  be  religious.  Pains  ought  to  be  taken 
to  keep  the  conversation  away  from  secular, 
worldly  or  frivolous  topics.  And  yet  the  day 
should  not  be  one  of  restraint  and  gloom,  lest 
the  children  learn  to  hate  it.  It  should  be  the 
brightest  and  gladdest  day  of  the  whole  week. 

It  is  an  important  and  perplexing  question  to 
know  what  to  do  wdth  the  children  on  Sunday. 
If  they  are  compelled  to  abstain  from  their  ordi- 
nary play  and  work,  and  other  means  are  not 
found  to  occupy  their  time,  the  day  will  be  long 

(123) 


350    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

and  wearisome  to  them,  and  they  will  be  certain 
not  to  use  it  properly  unless  they  are  instructed 
and  led  by  their  parents.  While  the  working 
out  of  the  details  must  be  left  to  the  piety,  good 
sense  and  ingenuity  of  parents,  a  few  general 
suggestions  may  be  given. 

In  the  first  place  it  ought  to  be  the  rule  of 
every  household  that  the  children  shall  be  taken 
to  church  and  Sunday-school.  It  is  not  enough 
that  they  go  to  the  school ;  attendance  at  church 
is  far  more  important.  They  should  go  to  both 
as  soon  as  they  are  old  enough  to  keep  quiet,  and 
by  a  little  care  they  can  be  trained  to  do  this  at 
a  very  early  age.  Aside  from  the  direct  benefits 
of  attending  church,  the  habit  thus  formed  is  in- 
valuable. Should  they  be  compelled  to  go  against 
their  will  ?  Certainly  ;  it  is  no  greater  hardship 
to  be  compelled  to  go  to  church  than  it  is  to  be 
compelled  to  wash  their  hands  and  faces  and 
keep  their  clothes  clean.  But  will  not  compulsory 
attendance  at  church  make  them  hate  religion? 
Does  compelling  them  to  be  neat  in  childhood 
make  them  love  dirt  when  they  are  grown  up  ? 
The  amount  of  current  nonsense  on  this  subject 
is  astonishing.  Of  course  the  exercise  of  author- 
ity in  the  matter  should  be  resorted  to  only  when 
necessary,  and  should  be  loving  and  tender,  not 
arbitrary   and  harsh.     But   when  the  habit  of 

(124) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day.      351 

church-going  is  once  thoroughly  formed,  they 
will  take  it  as  a  matter  of  course  that  they  must 
go.  And  the  best  of  it  is  that  the  habit  will  last 
them  through  life.  As  soon  as  the  children  are 
old  enough  to  go  out  for  any  purpose  in  the  even- 
ing, they  should  attend  the  evening  as  well  as  the 
morning  service.  But  children  under  twelve  or 
fourteen  years  of  age  cannot  attend  more  than 
one  church  service.  It  is  a  good  plan  for  parents 
to  take  their  children  to  Sunday-school  rather 
than  to  send  them. 

But  attendance  at  religious  services  will  occupy 
only  a  part  of  Sunday ;  how  shall  the  children  be 
employed  during  the  rest  of  it  ?  This  question 
relates  especially  to  the  younger  children,  most 
of  whose  time  must  be  spent  at  home.  Some 
part  of  it  should  be  occupied  in  giving  them 
religious  instruction.  Let  them  be  questioned 
with  regard  to  the  sermon  they  have  heard  and 
the  lesson  they  have  studied.  Parents  who  have 
tried  it  are  surprised  to  see  how  early  their  chil- 
dren become  appreciative  listeners  at  church, 
when  they  expect  to  be  questioned  about  the 
sermon  at  home.  Another  good  way  to  occupy 
the  children  on  Sunday  is  to  tell  them  Bible 
stories,  or  to  read  to  them  stories  suitable  to  the 
day.  They  will  listen  eagerly  to  such  stories 
long  before  they  are  able  to  read  for  themselves. 

(125) 


352    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

If  there  is  any  musical  talent  in  the  family,  some 
time  may  be  taken  each  Sabbath  for  a  home- 
service  of  song,  singing  hymns  and  religious 
songs,  in  which  all  can  join.  This  will  be  equally 
delightful  to  the  older  and  the  younger  members 
of  the  family.  But  beyond  this  strictly  religious 
use  of  the  time,  parents  should  talk  with  their 
children  on  Sunday  about  their  every-day  duties 
and  interests,  keeping  in  view  the  moral  and 
religious  side  of  them.  It  is  the  day  above  all 
others  for  the  cultivation  of  family  affection  and 
the  strengthening  of  the  bonds  between  the  dif- 
ferent members  of  the  family. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  Should  children 
be  permitted  to  play  on  Sunday  ?  Surely  it  is 
not  necessary  except  in  the  case  of  very  young 
children.  If  such  means  as  those  we  have  sug- 
gested are  employed,  the  day  may  be  made  a 
happy  one  without  play.  But  if  play  is  permit- 
ted at  all,  it  should  be  of  a  diiferent  kind  from 
that  indulged  in  on  week-days.  Plenty  of  re- 
ligious games,  such  as  "  Noah's  Ark  "  and  "  Pil- 
grim's Progress,"  have  been  invented  for  young 
children,  and  these  should  be  provided  and  re- 
served for  that  day.  As  early  as  possible  every 
child  should  learn  that  Sunday  is  a  holy  day  and 
that  it  is  not  to  be  used  for  secular  purposes. 

The  duty  of  giving  religious  instruction  to  the 

(126) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day,      353 

children  devolves  upon  the  father.  Of  course,  if 
he  will  not  do  it,  the  Christian  mother  must  carry 
this  with  all  her  other  burdens;  but  if  he  is 
minded  to  do  it,  he  will  usually  find  that  some 
portion  of  Sunday  is  almost  the  only  time  he  can 
get  for  the  purpose.  On  that  day  let  him  take 
from  the  mother,  in  part,  the  burden  of  caring  for 
and  teaching  the  children.  If  he  is  a  wise  father, 
he  will  be  glad  to  do  it.  If  he  is  an  affectionate 
father,  he  can  make  the  children  so  love  the 
Lord's  day  that  all  their  future  lives  will  be  filled 
with  bright  memories  of  it.  Nothing  should  be 
allowed  to  interfere  with  such  a  use  of  the  day. 
While  it  is  primarily  a  day  of  religion,  to  a  much 
larger  extent  than  is  usual  at  the  present  time 
Sunday  ought  to  be  made  a  family  day — a  day 
when  the  members  of  the  family,  scattered  during 
the  week  by  their  various  occupations,  shall  be 
brought  together  as  much  as  possible. 

3.  Other  duties  appropriate  to  the  Lord's  day 
are  worhs  of  mercy.  As  already  stated,  such 
works  should  not  be  confined  to  that  day,  but 
they  are  peculiarly  appropriate  to  it.  The  exam- 
ple of  our  Saviour  suggests  this.  He  frequently 
brought  himself  into  conflict  with  the  Pharisees 
by  healing  the  sick  on  the  Sabbath.  The  very 
nature  of  Christ's  religion  would  exalt  this  duty. 
To  the  Jews  who   condemned  him  Jesus  said, 

23  (127) 


354    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

"  But  if  ye  had  known  what  this  meaneth,  I  will 
have  mercy,  and  not  sacrifice,  ye  would  not  have 
condemned  the  guiltless."*  In  answer  to  a  ques- 
tion, he  said,  "  It  is  lawful  to  do  well " — that  is, 
to  do  good  works — "on  the  sabbath  days."f 
We  ought  to  need  no  other  incentive  than  the 
example  of  our  Lord  to  do  such  work  on  the  day 
that  is  peculiarly  his.  Visiting  the  sick  and  the 
afflicted,  caring  for  the  destitute  and  investigating 
cases  of  reported  need  are  works  suited  to  the 
Lord's  day.  It  may  be  suggested,  however,  that 
if  time  and  opportunity  can  be  found  on  other 
days,  Sunday  might  better  be  reserved  for  purely 
religious  work.  But  these  works  are  required  on 
that  day  if  no  other  time  can  be  found  for  them. 
4.  Some  portion  of  every  Lord's  day  should 
be  reserved  for  religious  reading  and  meditation. 
Those  who  are  engaged  in  manual  labor  and  in 
business  ought  to  do  a  large  amount  of  reading 
on  Sunday.  It  is  their  best  opportunity  for  the 
improvement  of  mind  and  heart  by  this  means. 
Persons  whose  labor  is  largely  manual  can  thus 
rest  their  bodies  while  they  improve  their  minds. 
In  families  one  member  can  read  aloud  for  the 
edification  of  all.  In  this  way  the  fruits  of  read- 
ing would  be  gathered,  and  at  the  same  time  the 


*  Matthew  12  :  7.  f  Ibid.,  12  :  12. 

(128) 


Method  of  Observing  the  Lord's  Day.      355 

family  life  would  be  cultivated.  Students  and 
others  engaged  in  intellectual  toil  will  not  wish 
to  read  much  on  Sunday ;  and  if  they  are  wise, 
what  reading  they  do  will  be  devotional.  What 
such  persons  especially  need  is  religious  exer- 
cises, social  intercourse  and  out-door  rest. 

Some  portion  of  every  Sunday  ought  to  be 
spent  in  self-examination,  in  meditation  upon  re- 
ligious truth  and  in  communion  with  God.  No 
doubt  these  are  duties  for  every  day,  but  ordi- 
narily more  time  can  be  obtained  for  them  on 
Sundays  than  on  other  days.  In  the  hurry,  the 
confusion  and  the  eager  striving  of  modern  times, 
our  religious  life  suffers  sadly  for  the  want  of 
these  exercises.  This  is  especially  true  of  people 
who  live  in  cities.  The  calls  upon  their  attention 
are  so  many  and  so  loud  that  they  can  scarcely 
get  a  moment  to  think  of  how  they  are  living. 
All  the  greater  is  the  need  of  reserving  some 
portion  of  Sunday  for  this  purpose.  Since  we 
have  little  hope  of  this  blessed  experience  on 
other  days,  we  ought  certainly  to  be  "in  the 
Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day."  How  little  do  they 
know  of  their  real  needs — of  the  demands  of 
their  higher  nature — who  are  willing  to  spend  the 
precious  hours  of  this  day  in  pleasure-seeking !  • 

We  have  thus  indicated  the  improper  and  the 
proper  methods  of  spending  the  Lord's  day.     We 

(129) 


356    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath, 

have  tried  to  deal  with  general  principles,  yet  a 
certain  amount  of  specialization  has  seemed  nec- 
essary; but  the  application  of  the  principles  in 
detail  must  be  left  to  the  individual  judgment 
and  conscience.  It  may  be  thought  that,  among 
the  ''things  allowable"  and  the  "things  required," 
we  have  suggested  too  many  things  to  be  done 
on  this  day.  It  is  not  expected,  of  course,  that 
special  attention  will  be  given  to  all  of  these 
things  on  every  Sunday.  Each  person  must 
divide  his  time  and  attention  as  he  thinks  best 
in  his  peculiar  circumstances.  Some  attention 
should  be  given  to  each  of  the  "  things  required," 
but  how  much  it  is  impossible  to  define.  We 
feel  certain  that  those  who  spend  the  Lord's  day 
according  to  the  principles  we  have  here  laid 
down  and  illustrated  will  soon  be  led  to  regard 
a  weekly  Sabbath  among  the  choicest  blessings 
which  a  kind  heavenly  Father  has  bestowed  upon 
a  needy  race. 


(130) 


CHAPTER  XV. 

OUR   OBLIGATIONS    RESPECTING    THE    LORD's    DAY. 

My  son,  forget  not  my  law  ;  but  let  thine  heart  keep  my 
commandments  :  for  length  of  days,  and  long  life,  and  peace, 
shall  they  add  to  thee, — Proy.  3:1,2. 

At  this  point  in  the  discussion  we  are  prepared 
to  state  clearly  and  fully  what  we  mean  by  the 
Lord's  day.  It  is  not  precisely  the  same  thing 
as  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  though  it  is  closely  akin 
to  that  institution.  We  do  not  assert  that  any- 
thing distinctively  Jewish  is  to  be  perpetuated. 
Just  so  far  as  the  Sabbath  took  its  form  and 
coloring  from  Judaism,  it  has  been  changed.  The 
Lord's  day  bears  about  the  same  relation  to  the 
Jewish  Sabbath  that  a  son  who  has  enjoyed  every 
opportunity  for  culture  bears  to  his  less-cultivated 
but  equally  good  and  noble  father.  He  has  in- 
herited many  traits — for  the  fundamentals  of  his 
character  he  is  indebted  to  his  father ;  but  he  has 
gone  far  beyond  him  in  mental  growth  and  attain- 
ments, and  so  is  a  more  complete  man.  Although 
we  have  argued  that  the  fourth  commandment  is 
still  in  force,  it  does  not  follow  that  we  would 
have  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  in  all  its  features,  per- 

(131) 


358    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

petuated.  We  emphatically  disavow  any  incli- 
nation to  join  the  Judaizers.  We  claim  simply 
that  the  Sabbath  as  an  institution  is  perpetual, 
that  it  existed  before  and  survives  the  Jewish 
Sabbath,  and  that  it  appears  in  its  most  perfect 
form  in  the  Lord's  day.  The  original  Sabbath 
lost  nothing  from  its  Jewish  modifications ;  rather 
it  gained  in  clearness  of  outline,  in  fullness  of 
meaning  and  in  value  to  man.  There  have  really 
been  three  stages  of  development.  There  was 
first  the  original  Sabbath,  whose  nature  and  uses 
were  imperfectly  understood,  and  which  was  little 
regarded  by  men ;  then  came  the  Jewish  Sabbath, 
holding  an  important  relation  to  their  religious 
system,  and  playing  a  large  part  in  the  religious 
education  of  man;  and,  last  of  all,  the  Lord's 
day,  with  its  richer  associations,  its  greater  spirit- 
uality, its  demand  for  higher  duties,  its  offer  of 
nobler  privileges,  and  its  more  distinct  promise 
of  perfect  rest  in  the  future.  Just  as  the  present 
is  the  heir  of  all  past  ages,  so  our  Sabbath  is  the 
heir  of  Sabbaths  that  have  gone  before. 

Thus  the  Lord's  day  rests  upon  the  unrepealed 
law  of  God  given  at  the  beginning  and  re-enacted 
on  Sinai,  and  yet  is  an  advance  upon  what  was 
then  given.  It  is  not  the  original  Sabbath.  It 
is  not  the  Jewish  Sabbath.  It  is  not  simply  a 
memorial  of  our  Lord's  resurrection,  established 

(132) 


Ohligatio7is  Resjjeding  the  Lord's  Day.     359 

by  the  apostles  and  sanctioned  by  the  Church  in 
every  age  of  the  Christian  era.  It  is  all  of  these 
and  even  more.  It  is  more  than  all  of  these  be- 
cause Christ  gave  it  a  peculiarly  Christian  char- 
acter in  making  it  a  day  of  rest  from  secular  toil, 
and  yet  a  day  crowded  with  beneficent  deeds. 
It  gathers  into  itself  all  that  was  worth  preserv- 
ing of  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  and  takes  on  added 
value  and  glory  from  the  teaching  of  Christ  and 
from  Christian  associations. 

Now,  what  shall  we  do  with  this  institution? 
What  are  our  duties  respecting  it  ?  It  ought  now 
to  be  plain  that  it  is  more  important  to-day  than 
it  ever  was  in  the  past.  The  Lord's  day  is  cer- 
tainly more  to  us  than  their  Sabbath  was  to  the 
Hebrews.  This  is  just  as  vitally  related  to  the 
Christian  religion  as  that  was  to  Judaism.  If  the 
Sabbath  was  of  any  value  to  the  Jew  intellectu- 
ally and  physically,  the  Lord's  day  is  of  equal 
value  to  us.  The  question  presses  itself  home  to 
every  man's  judgment  and  conscience,  ShaU  we 
neglect  this  institution  and  suffer  it  to  perish,  or 
shall  we  carefully  maintain  it  ?  We  can  easily 
do  the  former,  for  God  will  not  compel  us  by 
force  to  observe  the  Lord's  day.  But  before  we 
adopt  that  course  we  ought  to  make  very  sure 
that  we  are  not  helping  to  destroy  an  institution 
which   will    carry    with   it   the    best   hopes    of 

(133) 


360    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sabbath. 

humanity.  Men  are  not  very  wise  who  break 
down  a  bridge  which  they  must  cross  or  drown. 
When  Samson  pulled  down  the  Philistine  temple 
upon  his  own  head,  he  had  the  excuse  that  he 
could  slay  at  the  same  time  thousands  of  his  en- 
emies ;  but  what  shall  we  say  of  a  man  who,  in  a 
moment  of  impatience,  pulls  down  his  own  house 
upon  himself  and  his  family?  Can  any  honest 
and  intelligent  man  satisfy  himself  that  the 
weekly  Sabbath  is  a  worthless  or  pernicious  in- 
stitution? Of  course,  if  he  can,  there  is  an 
end  of  the  discussion,  and  he  is  excusable  in 
neglecting  it,  and  he  ought  to  use  his  utmost 
endeavors  to  induce  others  to  do  the  same.  In 
the  light  of  what  we  now  have  before  us,  can 
any  one  convince  himself  that  the  Sabbath  is  not 
commanded  in  the  law  of  God  ?  Suppose  a  man 
is  really  anxious  to  obey  that  law  and  sets  it 
above  the  sentiments  of  men  and  the  dictates 
of  self-interest.  Let  this  man  carefully  examine 
the  teaching  of  God's  word  on  the  Sabbath,  as  it 
has  been  presented  in  these  pages.  Would  his 
conclusion  be  that  God  did  not  command  him  to 
keep  the  Lord's  day,  but  gave  him  liberty  entirely 
to  disregard  it?  It  is  hardly  conceivable  that  an 
honest  man  could  reach  that  conclusion ;  and  yet 
one  ought  to  reach  it,  before  he  decides  that  he 
has  no  duty  with  regard  to  the  Lord's  day.     If 

(134) 


Ohligations  Respecting  the  Lord's  Day.     361 

he  believes  that  it  is  God's  will  for  him  to  keep 
it  and  will  not,  he  is  a  rebel  against  God. 

We  believe  that  it  is  the  duty  of  all  men  to 
keep  holy  the  Lord's  day,  and  to  do  everything 
in  their  power  to  induce  others  to  keep  it  holy. 
This  surely  is  the  necessary  conclusion  of  the 
arguments  which  have  been  presented  for  its 
divine  origin  and  perpetual  obligation.  This  duty 
will  be  more  apparent  if  we  consider  its  different 
relations. 

I.  It  is  a  duty  which  we  owe  to  God.  There 
are  three  reasons  for  this :  (1)  He  has  com- 
manded it,  and  has  never  revoked  the  order. 
The  first  claim  which  he  makes  upon  every 
creature  is  that  of  obedience.  The  very  essence 
of  sin  is  rebellion  against  his  authority.  Accord- 
ing to  the  terse  but  comprehensive  definition  of 
John,  "sin  is  the  transgression  of  the  law."* 
Nothing  that  we  can  do  is  acceptable  to  him  so 
long  as  we  have  the  spirit  of  disobedience  in  our 
hearts.  It  is  easy  to  understand  why  this  must 
be  so.  All  God's  laws  are  founded  in  right,  and 
are  but  expressions  of  the  divine  nature.  He  is 
rightfully  supreme  in  authority,  for  he  is  infinite 
in  all  excellences.  As  Creator,  Preserver  and 
Redeemer  he  has  the  first  claim  upon  our  allegi- 


*  1  John  3  :  4. 

(135) 


362    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath, 

ance.  He  desires  our  love ;  our  primary  duty  is 
to  love  him  w^ith  all  the  heart,  mind  and  strength. 
But  love  that  does  not  bring  our  wills  into  con- 
formity to  his  means  nothing.  Hence,  one  who 
willfully  disobeys  a  known  command  of  God 
violates  the  first  duty  which  is  laid  upon  the 
heart  and  conscience  of  every  man.  Those  who 
neglect  the  Lord's  day  are  thus  guilty. 

(2)  It  is  a  duty  which  we  owe  to  God  as  our 
Redeemer.  By  the  wonderful  love  which  Christ 
has  shown  for  us  on  the  cross,  he  constrains  us  to 
keep  holy  the  Lord's  day,  and  to  induce  others  to 
honor  it.  Paul  said,  "I  beseech  you  therefore, 
brethren,  by  the  mercies  of  God,  that  you  present 
your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice,  holy,  acceptable 
unto  God,  which  is  your  reasonable  service;"*  as 
though  when  every  other  appeal  failed  they  would 
be  moved  by  the  thought  of  Christ's  dying  love. 
Let  us  remember  that  the  Lord's  day  is  kept  in 
honor  of  him  who  gave  his  life  for  us,  and  who 
rose  again  from  the  grave  to  intercede  for  us  at 
the  right  hand  of  God.  He  who  violates  the 
Christian  Sabbath  asserts  by  his  action  that  he 
cares  nothing  for  Christ ;  that  he  is  so  hardened 
by  sin  that  incarnate  love  cannot  touch  his  heart; 
that  he  is  so  imbruted  by  indulgence  of  his  car- 

*  llomans  12:1. 
(136) 


Obligations  Respecting  the  Lord's  Day.     363 

nal  appetites  that  the  noblest  life  and  most  heroic 
and  self-sacrificing  death  the  world  ever  saw 
awaken  no  thrill  of  admiration  in  his  heart.  Put 
it  on  this  ground  alone,  admit  that  there  is  no 
other  reason  for  observing  the  Lord's  day  than 
that  it  honors  our  crucified  and  risen  Lord,  and 
every  man  of  conscience  and  sensibility  ought  to 
be  more  than  willing  to  keep  it  in  the  manner 
that  would  best  please  him  whose  name  it  bears. 

(3)  It  is  a  duty  which  must  be  done  in  order 
to  prepare  the  way  for  the  performance  of  other 
duties.  It  is  our  duty  to  learn  of  God's  will  con- 
cerning us  through  the  study  of  his  written  word. 
If  Jesus  were  on  earth  now  in  bodily  form,  he 
could  say  to  many  people,  as  he  said  to  the  Sad- 
ducees,  "  Ye  do  err,  not  knowing  the  scriptures, 
nor  the  power  of  God."  *  A  fruitful  source  of 
error  in  all  Christian  lands  is  ignorance  of  God's 
word  on  the  part  of  the  masses  of  the  people. 
It  is  also  our  duty  to  worship  God.  He  is  worthy 
of  all  reverence,  adoration  and  praise.  In  the 
Scriptures  no  duty  is  made  more  prominent  than 
that  of  worship.  "  Give  unto  the  Lord  the  glory 
due  unto  his  name ;  bring  an  offering,  and  come 
into  his  courts.  0  worship  the  Lord  in  the  beauty 
of  holiness :    fear  before   him,  all  the    earth."  f 


*  Matthew  22  :  29.  f  Psalm  96  :  8,  9. 

(137) 


364    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

This  worship  must  be  public  *  as  well  as  private ; 
that  is,  the  people  of  every  community  are  bound 
to  assemble  together  and  join  with  one  another  in 
the  public  worship  of  God.  This  is  a  duty  which 
we  all  owe  to  him.  But  it  has  already  been 
shown  that  neither  this  duty  nor  that  of  receiv- 
ing instruction  from  the  Scriptures  can  be  satis- 
factorily performed  without  the  observance  of  the 
Lord's  day.  Indeed,  these  exercises  constitute 
the  most  essential  element  of  such  an  observance. 
The  most  important  reason  for  ordaining  the  Sab- 
bath was  that  we  might  have  opportunity  to  per- 
form these  duties.  To  neglect  the  Lord's  day 
means  a  practical  repudiation  of  God's  claim  to 
worship.  Even  private  worship  would  soon  be 
discontinued  if  we  no  longer  had  the  services  of 
the  Lord's  day  to  nourish  our  religious  life.  The 
people  who  are  the  most  diligent  in  the  study  of 
God's  word,  and  who  engage  most  in  secret 
prayer,  are  not  the  people  who  disregard  his  holy 
day.  Thus  the  proper  observance  of  the  Sabbath 
is  a  prerequisite  to  the  performance  of  most  of 
the  duties  which  we  owe  directly  to  God.  It 
is  hardly  conceivable  that  one  could  be  a  willful 
violator  of  the  Sabbath  without  becoming  thor- 
oughly godless.     Those  who  think  that  this  in- 


*  Psalm  40 ;  89  :  7  ;  Hebrews  10  :  25. 
(138) 


Obligations'  Respecting  the  Lord's  Day,     365 

stitution  is  of  little  account  should  ask  themselves 
Avhether  they  are  prepared  to  see  the  world  given 
over  to  practical  atheism.  Thus,  because  God 
has  commanded  it,  because  it  honors  his  Son  who 
died  to  redeem  us  from  sin  and  eternal  death,  and 
because  it  is  a  necessary  condition  of  the  per- 
formance of  the  most  important  duties  that  are 
laid  upon  the  conscience  of  man,  the  observance 
of  the  Lord's  day  is  a  duty  which  we  owe  to 
God. 

II.  It  is  a  duty  which  we  owe  to  our  fellow 
men.  Here  our  duty  is  twofold.  We  are  bound 
to  observe  the  day  on  account  of  our  example, 
and  we  are  bound  to  do  all  we  can  consistent  with 
due  regard  for  their  personal  rights  to  induce 
others  to  observe  it.  Our  duty  respecting  the 
Lord's  day  compels  us  to  consider  the  effect  of 
our  conduct  upon  others.  No  man  can  say,  "  It 
concerns  no  one  but  myself  whether  I  keep  this 
day  or  not."  He  cannot  limit  to  himself  the 
effects  of  violating  its  sanctity.  He  may  feel 
that  he  does  not  need  it,  but  he  cannot  shape  his 
course  by  that  alone.  He  must  consider  whether 
the  general  disregard  of  the  day  would  promote 
the  welfare  of  the  community  in  which  he  lives, 
and  remember  that  his  influence  tends  to  destroy 
or  maintain  the  institution. 

In  the  first  part  of  this  book  it  was  shown  that 

(139) 


366    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

the  Sabbath  was  necessary  to  the  physical,  men- 
tal, moral,  religious  and  social  welfare  of  man. 
It  is,  therefore,  obvious  that  the  maintenance  of 
it  is  a  duty  which  we  owe  to  our  fellow  men.  To 
take  it  away  from  them  would  be  to  degrade  a 
large  portion  of  the  race  to  the  position  of  slaves. 
Compelled  to  toil  every  day  in  the  year,  they 
would  soon  become  physically  enervated,  mentally 
stupid  and  morally  depraved.  That  is  the  con- 
dition of  the  common  people  in  those  lands  where 
no  Sabbath  is  known.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  avarice  and  ambition  of  the  wealthy  and 
powerful  would  soon  reduce  to  the  same  condi- 
tion that  great  majority  of  the  people  in  our  own 
land  who  are  compelled  to  gain  a  livelihood  by 
manual  toil,  or  by  acting  as  employes,  if  we  had 
no  Sabbath.  A  small  measure  of  philanthropy 
would  impel  us  to  give  them  one  day  in  seven  for 
physical  rest.  The  slightest  regard  for  their 
^  -f  J  mutual  improvement  would  make  us  glad  to  give 
them  such  an  opportunity  for  receiving  instruc- 
tion as  the  proper  observance  of  the  Lord's  day 
affords.  If  we  have  any  interest  whatever  in 
their  moral  elevation,  we  shall  keep  the  Lord's 
day  as  a  religious  festival,  encouraging  neither  its 
use  for  secular  toil  nor  its  employment  in  riotous 
and  injurious  amusements.  Good  and  wise  men 
doubt  whether  the  growing  tendency  to  adopt  the 

(140) 


Ohligations  Respecting  the  Lord^s  Day.     367 

latter  use  of  the  day  does  not  render  it  advisable 
to  abolish  it  altogether  as  a  day  of  rest,  and  make 
it  a  working  day  like  the  others.  Used  in  such 
a  manner  it  does  men  no  good  physically,  and 
tends  to  degrade  them  morally.  It  is  quite  cer- 
tain that  no  one  who  has  at  heart  the  moral 
improvement  of  his  fellow  men  would  encourage 
such  a  use  of  the  Lord's  day.  We  are  bound  to 
consider  also  the  religious  welfare  of  man.  There 
are  many  who  are  unwilling  to  take  account  of 
this.  They  think  only  of  what  will  benefit  the 
minds  and  bodies  of  men,  and  care  nothing  for 
their  religious  nature.  They  are  willing  to  give 
laboring  men  an  occasional  day  of  rest  for  the 
sake  of  their  bodies,  but  do  not  believe  that  any 
part  of  it  should  be  spent  in  religious  exercises. 
But  we  have  shown  that  the  religious  nature  is 
an  essential  part  of  a  complete  man.  It  is  only 
by  ignoring  the  fundamental  laws  of  our  being 
that  we  can  deny  the  necessity  of  religion  to  a 
perfect  manhood.  If  man  were  for  this  world 
alone,  he  would,  perhaps,  need  no  days  devoted 
to  religious  uses.  But  we  are  not  yet  quite  pre- 
pared to  admit  that  we  shall  die  as  the  brutes  die. 
The  materialistic  and  utilitarian  tendencies  of  our 
age  have  not  destroyed  in  all  of  us  the  belief  in 
a  future  life.  When  men  act  as  though  they  had 
no  consideration  for  the  religious  nature  or  for  the 

(141) 


3o8    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

claims  of  God,  they  degrade  themselves  to  a  low 
and  brutish  plane  of  living.  Says  Emerson,  writ- 
ing on  immortality,  "  I  admit  that  you  will  find 
a  good  deal  of  skepticism  in  the  streets  and 
hotels  and  places  of  coarse  amusement ;  but  that 
is  only  to  say  that  the  practical  faculties  are  de- 
veloped faster  than  the  spiritual.  Where  there 
is  depravity  there  is  a  slaughter-house  style  of 
thinking."  This  style  of  thinking  nowhere  man- 
ifests itself  in  so  gross  and  repulsive  form  as  in 
the  expressions  of  those  who  think  that  man  has 
no  need  of  the  Sabbath  for  religious  purposes, 
because  he  has  no  religious  nature  and  no  hope 
of  a  future  life.  We  owe  it  to  our  fellow  men  as 
immortal  beings  to  make  a  religious  use  of  the 
Lord's  day,  and  by  every  means  in  our  power  to 
promote  such  a  use  of  it  among  others.  The 
highest  love  we  can  show  for  men  is  that  which 
seeks  to  prepare  them  for  a  glorious  life  of  right- 
eousness in  this  world,  and  for  a  glorious  immor- 
tality in  the  life  to  come. 

On  account  of  its  relation  to  the  general  wel- 
fare of  man,  we  hold  that  he  is  an  enemy  to  his 
race  who  would  rob  them  of  the  glorious  privileges 
which  are  theirs  through  the  observance  of  the 
Lord's  day.  It  is  to  be  expected  that  wicked 
men  will  sell  rum,  and  adulterate  food,  and  oppress 
the  poor,  and  commit  fraud,  and  do  other  nefarious 

(142) 


Obligations  Respecting  the  Lord's  Day.     369 

things  for  the  sake  of  gain,  or  debauch  the  inno- 
cent to  gratify  their  lusts,  or  cause  the  slaughter 
of  thousands,  or  rob  a  nation  of  its  liberty  to  feed 
their  ambition ;  but  what  conceivable  motive 
could  induce  men  to  rob  mankind  of  a  blessing  so 
vitally  related  to  their  temporal  and  eternal  wel' 
fare  as  the  weekly  Sabbath,  unless  it  is  a  desire 
to  put  God  out  of  the  v/orld,  not  caring  how  far 
they  sink  the  race  if  only  their  consciences  can 
be  made  easy  while  they  trample  on  the  laws  of 
their  Maker?  We  feel  certain  that  all  good  men, 
when  they  come  to  think  of  the  value  of  the 
Sabbath,  w^ill  do  everything  in  their  power  to 
preserve  its  sanctity.  One  who  loves  his  kind 
must  do  this.  If  the  self-seeking  and  greed  and 
push  of  our  times  have  left  any  philanthropy  in 
our  bosoms,  if  the  hurry  and  confusion  and  tur- 
moil of  our  life  have  left  us  any  opportunity  for 
patient  thought  upon  our  duties  to  our  fellow 
men,  if  the  force  of  the  loving  Saviour's  influence 
is  not  altogether  spent,  there  are  many  in  Chris- 
tian lands  whose  example  and  words  will  be  given 
to  preserve  this  sacred  day  from  profanation.  We 
believe  that  there  are  thousands  who  need  only 
to  know  their  duty  in  order  to  do  it. 

III.  To  keep  the  Lord's  day  holy  is  a  duty 
w^hich  we  owe  to  ourselves.  This  point  is  closely 
related  to  both  the  preceding.     Our  prosperity 

24  (143) 


370    Nature  and  Lnportance  of  the  Sabbath. 

and  happiness  depend  upon  our  obedience  to  the 
laws  of  God.  No  one  can  doubt  this  but  the 
atheist,  the  man  who  puts  God  out  of  the  universe. 
If  this  world  had  a  Creator,  if  he  has  made  laws 
for  its  government,  if  he  is  immanent  in  nature 
and  controls  all  things  by  his  providences,  if  he 
has  established  moral  laws  by  which  the  conduct 
of  all  intelligent  creatures  should  be  regulated, 
the  line  of  obedience  in  these  laws  is  the  path 
which  leads  to  the  highest  blessedness  and  the 
noblest  destiny.  They  who  transgress  his  laws 
must  suffer  harm.  The  universe  is  so  organized 
that  all  its  forces  marshal  themselves  for  the  de- 
struction of  him  who  puts  himself  out  of  harmony 
with  it.  It  is  so  in  the  material  world.  Trans- 
gress a  law  of  your  physical  being,  and  you  must 
pay  the  penalty  in  disease  and  pain.  Put  your- 
self in  the  fire  or  under  water,  and  God  will  not 
stop  the  operation  of  his  laws  to  save  your  life. 
As  well  might  an  insect  alight  upon  the  iron  rail 
of  the  track  and  expect  the  train  to  stop  in  order 
that  its  life  might  be  saved,  as  for  you  to  expect 
that  God  will  interfere  with  his  laws  to  save  one 
who  violates  them.  "  The  stars  in  their  courses 
fought  against  Sisera." 

It  is  so  in  the  mental  world.  The  mind  has 
its  recognized  laws  of  development  and  activity. 
It  is  so  in  the  moral  world.    He  who  transgresses 

(144) 


OhligaUons  Respecting  the  Lord's  Day.     371 

moral  law  inevitably  becomes  debased.  "  The 
wages  of  sin  is  death."  The  doing  of  one  good 
deed  gives  us  the  power  and  disposition  to  do 
another.  We  are  the  children  of  our  past  deeds. 
Moreover,  God  has  indissolubly  linked  together 
virtue  and  happiness,  and  vice  and  misery.  The 
union  is  not  arbitrary,  but  grows  out  of  the  nature 
of  things.  It  is  only  when  we  remember  this 
that  we  can  understand  the  threatenings  and 
promises  of  Scripture.  "  Ye  shall  therefore  keep 
my  statutes  and  my  judgments  :  which  if  a  man 
do,  he  shall  live  in  them."  *  "  But  if  ye  refuse 
and  rebel,  ye  shall  be  devoured  with  the  sword : 
for  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken  itT  j* 
"  The  face  of  the  Lord  is  against  them  that  do 
evil,  to  cut  off  the  remembrance  of  them  from 
the  earth."  J  '^  If  thou  wilt  enter  into  life,  keep 
the  commandments."  §  "  Blessed  are  they  that 
do  his  commandments,  that  they  may  have  right 
to  the  tree  of  life,  and  may  enter  in  through  the 
gates  into  the  city."  ||  This  applies  to  all  the 
commands  of  God.  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  God  knew  what  was  good  for  us  when  he 
commanded  us  to  keep  a  weekly  Sabbath.  He 
could  no  more  make  a  mistake  in  this  than  in 

*  Leviticus  18  :  5.  I  Matthew  19  :  17. 

t  Isaiah  1  :  20.  [|  Revelation  22  :  14. 

X  Psalm  34  :  16. 

(145) 


372    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sabbath. 

establishing  other  laws.  This  requirement  is  in 
strict  accordance  with  man's  physical,  mental  and 
moral  being.  We  have  seen  in  a  previous  chapter 
how  important  God  made  it  for  the  Hebrews, 
and  how  closely  he  connected  the  observance  of 
it  with  their  welfare.  There  is  no  reason  for 
thinking  that  it  is  less  important  to  us,  or  that 
the  advantages  of  observing  it  and  the  disad- 
vantages of  violating  it  have  been  changed.  We 
cannot  expect  to  transgress  the  law  of  God  and 
escape  its  penalty.  It  is  just  as  true  now  as  it 
ever  was  that  the  way  of  prosperity  and  blessed- 
ness is  the  way  of  obedience.  He  who  neglects 
the  Lord's  day  will  certainly  suffer  loss.  If  he 
does  not  experience  calamity  in  this  world,  he 
will  be  one  of  those  who,  in  the  world  to  come, 
will  be  cast  into  outer  darkness.  He  who  keeps 
the  Lord's  day,  using  it  in  the  way  that  seems  to 
him  best  adapted  to  promote  his  own  spiritual 
welfare  and  to  advance  the  cause  of  Christ,  will 
be  blessed  in  the  doing  of  it,  and  will  be  prepared 
for  eternal  glory  in  the  future  world. 

IV.  To  keep  holy  the  Lord's  day  is  a  duty 
which  we  owe  to  our  families.  He  who  under- 
takes to  train  his  children  without  teaching  them 
to  observe  this  day  assumes  a  fearful  responsi- 
bility. The  children  will  grow  up  in  godless- 
ness,  and  may  reasonably  be  expected  to  become 

(146) 


Obligations  Respecting  the  Lord's  Dag,     373 

vicious.  One  is  sometimes  careless  of  his  own 
welfare,  when  he  is  not  willing  to  drag  his  chil- 
dren down  with  him.  If  no  other  motive  induces 
one  to  "remember  the  sabbath  day,  to  keep  it 
holy,"  the  knowledge  of  its  value  to  his  children 
ought  to  be  sufficient. 

V.  It  is  a  duty  which  we  owe  to  our  country. 
While  we  are  bound  to  be  interested  in  the  wel- 
fare of  all  mankind,  our  own  country  has  the  first 
claim  upon  us.  Christian  philanthropy  is  not 
limited  by  national  boundaries ;  but  even  the 
apostles  were  to  begin  at  Jerusalem  in  preaching 
the  gospel  to  all  the  world.  Paul  had  a  special 
desire  for  the  salvation  of  his  own  countrymen, 
his  "  kinsmen  according  to  the  flesh."  Patriotism 
is  one  of  the  primary  virtues.  It  is  an  essential 
quality  of  a  noble  character.  Mean  and  base 
indeed  is  he  who  does  not  care  for  his  country's 
welfare.  Do  we  not  instinctively  feel,  when 
the  poet  says, 

"  I  do  love 
My  country's  good  with  a  respect  more  tender, 
More  holy  and  profound,  than  mine  own  life," 

that  he  expresses  a  noble  sentiment  ?  But  when 
we  consider  how  great  is  our  country,  and  how 
largely  the  hopes  of  humanity  depend  upon  its 
destiny,  we  may  well  consider  the  effect  of  our 
actions  upon  its  welfare.    Longfellow  is  not  guilty 

(117) 


374    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

of  excessive  exaggeration  when  he  says  to  our 
Union, 

"  Humanity  with  all  its  fears, 
With  all  the  hopes  of  future  years, 
Is  hanging  breathless  on  thy  fate." 

It  can  easily  be  shown  that  the  attitude  of  our 
people  toward  the  Lord's  day  will  be  an  import- 
ant factor  in  determining  the  future  of  this  coun- 
try. But  before  speaking  of  that,  we  must  give 
our  attention  to  another  yet  closely-related  sub- 
ject. One  of  the  burning  questions  of  the  day 
is  that  concerning  the  Sunday  laws.  It  is  the 
law  of  the  land  that  no  business  shall  be  trans- 
acted on  Sunday.  Courts  of  justice  and  all 
public  offices  are  closed.  A  contract  made  on 
that  day  is  not  binding.  Men  employed  by  the 
month  or  year  cannot  be  compelled  to  work  on 
that  day.  A  debt  cannot  be  collected  on  Sunday. 
Most,  if  not  all,  of  the  states  of  the  Union  have 
laws  prohibiting  work,  business  and  certain  kinds 
of  amusements  on  the  Christian  Sabbath,  and 
s-ome  of  the  cities  have  special  laws  prohibiting 
the  opening  of  stores,  liquor-saloons  and  places 
of  amusement.*  Of  late  these  laws  have  not 
been  very  strictly  enforced,  and  there  is  a  demand 
for  their  repeal.     Infidels,  free-thinkers  and  all 

*  See  Appendix  D  for  abs^fact  of  the  Sunday  laws  of  the 
United  States. 
(148) 


Obligations  Respecting  the  Lord's  Dag.     375 

who  are  hostile  or  indifferent  to  the  Christian 
religion  claim  that  to  enact  and  enforce  such 
laws  is  an  infringement  of  their  personal  rights. 
They  would  have  all  kinds  of  business,  both 
public  and  private,  transacted  on  Sunday  as  on 
other  days ;  and  they  insist  that  each  citizen 
should  be  allowed  to  use  the  day  as  he  pleases — 
for  work  or  amusement  or  worship.  Any  effort 
on  the  part  of  the  government  to  restrain  them 
they  scoff  at  as  an  attempt  to  "  make  them  re- 
ligious by  law."  They  denounce  it  as  an  effort 
to  control  their  consciences,  and  as  inconsistent 
with  our  notions  of  religious  liberty.  At  the  first 
glance  the  complaint  seems  to  be  well  founded ; 
but  before  we  can  decide  the  question  upon  its 
merits,  we  must  understand  what  the  Sunday 
laws  are  designed  to  accomplish.  It  is  not  their 
purpose  to  compel  men  to  accept  the  Christian 
religion  against  their  will.  Every  true  Christian 
knows  perfectly  well  that  such  an  attempt  would 
be  of  no  use  whatever.  It  is  a  libel  upon  Chris- 
tians to  imply  that  they  do  not,  in  our  times  at 
least,  understand  the  nature  of  their  own  religion 
better  than  to  suppose  that  men  can  be  made 
Christians  by  force.  Neither  are  the  Sunday 
laws  intended  to  compel  any  one  to  observe  the 
Lord's  day  according  to  a  prescribed  method. 
When  the  Puritans  of  the  New  England  colonies 

(149) 


376    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

forced  every  person  to  attend  church  who  was 
able  to  go,  they  were  guilty  of  religious  intoler- 
ance and  persecution.  Nothing  of  the  kind  is 
contemplated  in  the  passage  of  Sunday  laws. 
They  simply  prohibit  the  doing  of  certain  things 
which  it  is  felt  are  calculated  to  destroy  the 
sanctity  of  the  Lord's  day  as  a  public  institution. 
There  are  two  reasons  for  the  passage  and  enforce- 
ment of  such  laws.  The  first  is  the  belief  of  the 
great  majority  of  our  people  that  the  observance 
of  the  Lord's  day  is  essential  to  the  welfare  of 
the  nation.  They  would  regard  the  general 
neglect  and  desecration  of  this  day  as  a  great 
public  calamity.  They  know  that  if  any  consid- 
erable portion  of  the  population  is  allowed  freely 
to  desecrate  it,  the  tendency  will  be  toward  its 
complete  destruction.  Familiarity  with  any  prac- 
tice, however  repulsive  it  may  be  at  first,  soon 
renders  it  tolerable,  and,  where  it  is  an  irrelig- 
ious practice,  may  even  make  it  pleasant.  The 
example  of  others  is  contagious,  especially  the 
example  of  those  who  do  evil.  Children  will 
soon  lose  their  respect  for  the  sanctity  of  the  day 
which  is  filled  with  secular  toil  or  worldly  pleas- 
ure ;  and  if  the  growing  desecration  of  the  Lord's 
day  is  not  checked,  the  present  generation  will 
hardly  be  in  their  graves  before  w^e  shall  be  a 
nation  without  a  Sabbath.     The  second  reason  is 

(150) 


Obligations  Respecting  the  Lord's  Day.     377 

that  most  of  those  who  desire  to  keep  the  Lord's 
day  holy  cannot  do  so  while  others  are  disregard- 
ing it.  A  farmer  could,  for  he  is  isolated  from 
his  fellows,  and  it  makes  comparatively  little 
difference  to  him  whether  his  neighbors  work  on 
Sunday  or  not.  But  it  is  not  so  with  those  who 
live  in  towns,  and  are  more  closely  associated 
with  one  another.  There,  if  business  should  go 
on  as  usual,  the  quiet  which  is  essential  to  the 
proper  enjoyment  of  the  Lord's  day  is  destroyed. 
Large  classes  are  so  associated  in  work  that  some 
cannot  rest  unless  all  do.  If  the  courts  were  in 
session  on  Sunday,  Christian  lawyers  woujid  have 
to  be  there  to  attend  to  their  cases,  or  suffer  great 
loss.  If  the  factory  runs  on  Sunday,  all  the 
hands  must  be  present  or  take  the  risk  of  being 
dismissed.  When  his  train  leaves  the  station  on 
Sunday,  the  Christian  engineer  or  brakeman  must 
go  with  it.  If  groceryman  A  'opens  his  store  on 
Sunday  morning,  groceryman  B  must  also  open 
his  store  or  lose  all  those  customers  who  like  to 
be  accommodated  on  Sunday.  He  may  stand  out 
against  it  for  a  while,  but  unless  he  is  a  very 
conscientious  Christian  he  will  finally  yield.  If 
he  stands  by  his  convictions,  he  naturally  feels 
that  he  has  suffered  a  wrong  against  which  the 
law  ought  to  protect  him.  It  is  so  with  many 
other  callings.     Very  few  can  have  their  Sunday 

(151) 


378    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

and  properly  observe  it,  unless  there  is  a  general 
cessation  of  the  ordinary  week-day  business. 
The  principal  purpose  of  the  Sunday  laws  is  to 
protect  Christians  and  those  who  agree  with  them 
in  their  right  to  keep  the  Lord's  day  as  their  con- 
sciences require  them  to  observe  it. 

Let  us  look  for  a  moment  at  these  two  reasons 
and  see  whether  they  are  sufficient  to  justify  the 
passage  and  enforcement  of  Sunday  laws.  It  will 
hardly  be  disputed  that  a  government  should  pro- 
hibit that  which  it  believes  to  be  detrimental  to 
the  public  good.  In  a  government  by  the  people 
the  majority  must  rule.  What  the^  believe  to  be 
for  the  general  good  must  be  submitted  to  by  the 
minority,  unless  the  latter  feel  certain  that  it  is 
contrary  to  the  law  of  God.  In  that  case  it  may 
be  their  duty  to  resist ;  but  they  cannot  justify 
resistance  to  the  will  of  the  majority  on  the 
ground  that  obedience  to  it  is  not  convenient.  A 
nation  is  not  made  up  of  a  number  of  isolated 
persons.  It  is  not  a  heap  of  sand,  each  grain  of 
which  exists  only  for  itself.  A  nation  is  an  or- 
ganized body,  every  member  of  which  is  depend- 
ent upon  every  other.  It  is  formed  and  exists 
on  the  supposition  that  each  citizen  will  surrender 
a  portion  of  his  absolute  rights  in  exchange  for 
the  advantages  of  citizenship.  It  is  absurd  for 
people  to  talk  of  their  abstract  rights,  as  though 

(152) 


Obligations  Respecting  the  Lord's  Day,     379 

there  were  no  other  persons  in  the  world.  When 
men  become  citizens  of  a  country  like  ours,  it  is 
with  the  tacit  understanding  that  the  majority 
shall  rule.  The  majority  of  the  people  in  this 
country  believe  that  the  sale  of  intoxicants  should 
be  regulated  by  law.  Have  those  who  believe 
that  its  sale  should  be  unrestricted  any  right  to 
complain  ?  When  a  majority  of  our  citizens  be- 
lieve that  it  ought  to  be  prohibited  altogether,  it 
wdll  be  done,  and  the  minority  must  submit. 
There  is  a  small  minority  in  this  country  who 
think  they  should  be  allowed  to  deal  in  obscene 
literature.  May  not  a  man  sell  what  he  pleases 
to  those  who  wish  to  buy  ?  But  the  miajority  say 
that  they  shall  not  sell  such  books  and  papers  as 
are  calculated  to  injure  the  morals  of  the  young. 
There  is  another  small  minority  who  believe 
that  they  should  be  allowed  to  practice  polygamy. 
May  not  a  man  have  as  many  wives  as  he  can 
get  and  support?  That  seems  like  a  matter 
which  concerns  only  himself  and  the  women  he 
marries.  Nevertheless  the  majority  believe  that 
the  practice  of  polygamy  is  dangerous  to  the 
welfare  of  society,  and  the  government  voices  the 
opinion  of  the  majority.  Precisely  the  same 
principle  applies  to  the  Sunday  laws.  So  long, 
as  a  majority  of  the  people  believe  that  the 
observance  of  the  Sabbath  is  for  the  public  good, 

(153) 


380    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

it  is  their  undoubted  right  to  compel  every  one 
to  abstain  from  conduct  calculated  to  destroy  it. 
In  this  country  there  can  be  no  question  on  which 
side  the  majority  stands.  It  can  be  shown  by 
statistics  that  at  least  three-fourths  of  our  people 
are  in  favor  of  the  observance  of  Sunday  as  a 
day  of  rest  and  religious  service.*  There  is  no 
truth  whatever  in  the  claim  that  it  is  only  a 
Puritanical  minority  who  are  pleased  with  the 
Sunday  laws. 

The  plea  is  sometimes  advanced  that  such  laws 
are  inconsistent  with  personal  liberty.  They  do 
not  interfere  with  liberty,  but  only  with  license. 
"When  a  man  asks  for  the  privilege  of  doing  that 
which  will  be  injurious  to  other  men  or  to  society. 
he  is  asking  for  license,  not  for  liberty.  Sunday 
laws  are  no  more  infractions  of  personal  liberty 
than  many  other  laws — than  the  laws  which  re- 
late to  the  preservation  of  health,  to  the  educa- 
tion of  the  masses,  to  the  prevention  of  crime, 
to  the  preservation  of  the  home,  and  others  of 
the  same  kind.  Two  instances  will  show  the 
absurdity  of  the  plea.  May  not  a  man  do  what 
he  pleases  on  his  own  premises  ?  But  suppose 
he  tries  to  keep  a  nuisance,  or  something  which 
endangers  the  health  of  his  neighbors.     At  once 

*  See  "The  Sabbath  for  Man,"  pp.  83-90. 
(154) 


Ohligaiions  Respecting  the  Lord's  Day.     381 

the  law  steps  in  ta  prevent  him,  and  it  does  him 
no  good  to  cry  out  that  his  personal  liberty  is 
violated.  May  not  a  man  use  as  he  pleases  an 
animal  which  he  has  bought  with  his  own  money  ? 
But  if  he  starve  his  horse  or  beat  it  unmercifully, 
the  law  places  its  restraining  hand  upon  him,  and 
tells  him  to  desist.  Even  dumb  brutes  are  th un- 
protected from  brutes  that  are  not  dumb.  It  ^a  ill 
be  seen  at  once  that  every  law  which  is  fram(3d 
for  the  protection  and  benefit  of  society  must 
interfere  with  the  individual  when  he  undertakes 
to  do  that  which  is  injurious  to  society.  It  is  on 
this  principle  that  men  may  justly  and  properly 
be  told  what  they  may  and  may  not  do  on  the 
Lord's  day.  So  long  as  society  believes  that  to 
destroy  the  Sabbath  would  be  injurious  to  itself, 
it  has  a  perfect  right  to  inflict  any  penalty  it 
pleases  upon  the  man  whose  conduct  is  calculated 
to  impair  its  sanctity. 

Again,  it  is  pertinent  to  ask  whether  those  who 
desire  to  keep  the  Lord's  day  shall  be  protected 
in  their  right  to  observe  it,  or  whether  those  who 
desire  to  make  it  a  day  of  pleasure  or  business 
shall  be  protected  in  violating  it.  The  rights  of 
one  class  should  be  as  sacred  as  those  of  another. 
Suppose  the  two  parties  to  be  equal  in  number ; 
the  question  would  then  turn  upon  which  would 
suffer  the  greater  wrong  in  granting  the  other  his 

(155) 


382    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

desire.  In  one  case  men  would  simply  be  re- 
strained from  that  which  would  gratify  their 
worldly  ambition  or  their  love  of  pleasure  ;  in 
the  other  case  they  would  be  compelled  to  do 
violence  to  their  consciences  or  to  suffer  loss.  It 
certainly  cannot  be  a  matter  of  conscience  for  a 
man  so  to  occupy  himself  on  the  Lord's  day  as  to 
make  it  impossible  for  his  neighbor  to  keep  it 
holy.  It  is  a  matter  of  conscience  and  of  relig- 
ious conviction  with  thousands  to  observe  the  day 
as  the  Christian  Sabbath.  But  the  parties  are 
by  no  means  equal,  and  the  question  really  is 
whether  a  godless  minority  shall  be  allowed  to 
trample  upon  the  rights  of  the  majority.  It 
should  not  take  long  to  decide  such  a  question. 

But  the  cry  is  raised  that  the  government 
should  have  nothing  to  do  with  religion,  and  the 
Sunday  laws  are  the  result  of  legislation  on  re- 
ligious matters.  Here  a  half-truth  is  so  pushed 
into  the  foreground  that  the  other  half  is  hidden. 
It  is  true  that  governments  have  no  right  to  make 
laws  favoring  one  religion  or  one  sect  at  the  ex- 
pense of  another.  For  example,  if  the  govern- 
ment should  tax  all  our  citizens  for  the  support 
of  some  particular  form  of  Christianity,  those 
who  do  not  accept  that  form  would  have  just 
cause  of  complaint.  The  government  has  no 
right  to  prescribe  forms  of  worship,  to  subject 

(156) 


OUigations  Respecting  the  Lord's  Day.     383 

any  person  to    political  or   civil   disabilities    on 
account  of  his  religious  belief,  or  in  any  way  to 
coerce  the  consciences    of  men.     At  the   same 
time  no  government  can  entirely  ignore  religion. 
A  nation  is  made  up  of  men,  and  men  are  relig- 
ious beings.     It  would  be  just  as  sensible  for  a 
government  to  make  its  laws  regardless  of  the 
fact  that  men  have  bodies  whose  health  must  be 
preserved  by  observing  the  principles  of  sanita- 
tion, as  for  it  to  ignore  \hQ  religious  nature  of 
man.     In  constituting  a  nation  and  in  framing  a 
government  men  act  as  religious  beings,  and  their 
religion    must  mark   their   national   institutions. 
Now,  in  the  sense  that  it  is  not  a  Mohammedan 
or  a  Buddhist  or  a  Roman  Catholic  nation,  this  is 
a  Christian  and  Protestant   nation.     Protestant 
Christianity  was  the  accepted  religion  of  most  of 
those   who  settled   this   country,  who  organized 
the  nation  and  framed  its  laws.     It  was  natural 
and  even  necessary  that   that  form   of  religion 
should  be  considered,  and,  since  the  observance 
of  the  Lord's  day  was  an  essential  part  of  it,  that 
provision  should  be  made  to  allow  all  who  chose 
to  do  so,  to  observe  it  without  disturbance.     The 
nation  has  so  far   retained  that   character,  and 
those  who  have  come  hither  from  other  lands  have 
generally  been  aware  of  it;    if  they  have   not, 
they  could  easily  have  informed  themselves ;  and 

(157) 


384    Nature  and  Lnportance  of  the  Sahhath. 

it  is  preposterous  for  them  to  come  here  and  ask 
us  to  change  our  institutions  to  suit  their  notions. 
A  company  of  men  and  women  form  a  society  for 
certain  purposes,  and  lay  down  Such  rules  for  its 
government  as  seem  to  them  best.  Suppose  that 
one  of  these  rules  is  that  the  meetings  of  the 
society  should  open  with  prayer.  After  a  little, 
some  atheist  or  infidel  who  wishes  to  join  the 
society  asks  them  to  omit  this  ceremony  in  order 
not  to  hurt  his  feelings.  What  would  be  their 
answer?  If  they  had  any  self-respect  they 
would  say  to  him,  ^'  You  can  enter  the  society  as 
it  is  and  abide  by  its  rules,  or  you  can  stay  out." 
In  the  same  way  we  have  the  right  to  say  to 
foreigners  who  scoff  at  our  Sunday  laws,  ''  You 
are  not  compelled  to  come  to  this  country ;  but 
if  you  come,  you  must  come  among  us  as  we  are 
and  adjust  yourselves  to  our  institutions.  We 
certainly  shall  not  adjust  our  institutions  to  your 
ideas  and  habits." 

We  conclude  that  our  government  has  the  right 
to  make  it  impossible  to  do  public  business  on  the 
Lord's  day,  and  that  the  state  governments  may 
justly  pass  laws  requiring  all  to  abstain  from 
whatever  practices  tend  to  prevent  its  proper 
observance.  So  long  as  the  nation  is  Christian 
and  Protestant,  such  laws  but  fairly  express  the 
will  of  the  majority,  and  are  necessary  in  order 

(158) 


Ohligations  Respecting  the  Lord's  Day,     385 

that  they  may  enjoy  one  of  their  sacred  rights. 
It  is  not  only  our  right  but  our  duty  to  have  such 
laws,  if  we  believe  that  keeping  the  Lord's  day 
is  for  the  public  good.  And  when  such  laws  are 
passed,  it  is  the  duty  of  every  good  citizen  to  see 
that  they  are  obeyed.  Nothing  can  be  worse  for 
any  people  than  a  disregard  for  law.  A  law  that 
is  trampled  upon  with  impunity  is  worse  than  no 
law.  The  seeds  of  license  and  anarchy  and  vio- 
lence are  being  sown  whenever  a  law  can  be 
broken  without  the  infliction  of  the  penalty,  and 
the  people  who  allow  it  will  reap  a  terrible  har- 
vest in  the  future.  The  Sunday  laws  should  be 
so  framed  that  their  enforcement  will  not  violate 
the  real  rights  of  any  citizen,  but  will  serve  sim- 
ply to  preserve  the  Sabbath  as  a  public  institu- 
tion and  to  secure  to  every  one  the  opportunity 
to  observe  it;  and  then  they  should  be  enforced. 
To  put  forth  every  effort  to  secure  these  desirable 
ends  is  the  first  duty  which  we  owe  to  our  coun- 
try respecting  the  Lord's  day. 

If  the  conclusions  reached  in  the  first  part  of 
this  book  are  correct,  it  is  easy  to  show  that  the 
observance  of  the  Lord's  day  by  our  people  is 
essential  to  the  weif)ire  of  the  nation.  In  a 
country  like  ours  the  only  hope  of  abiding  pros- 
perity is  that  furnished  by  the  virtue  and  intel- 
ligence of  the  people.     These  are  the  chief  found- 

25  (159) 


386    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

ation-stones  on  which  a  republic  must  be  built. 
If  these  prerequisites  of  good  government  are 
absent,  the  sovereign  people  may  be  a  worse 
sovereign  to  live  under  than  the  most  despotic 
monarch  that  ever  disgraced  a  throne.  Without 
these  there  can  be  no  assurance  that  law  will 
be  respected,  no  permanent  security  for  life  and 
property,  and  no  hope  of  anything  in  the  future 
but  a  relapse  into  barbarism.  Just  in  the  pro- 
portion that  the  average  citizen  has  become  less 
virtuous  and  intelligent  on  account  of  the  enfran- 
chisement of  the  negroes  and  the  immigration  of 
ignorant  and  vicious  people  from  foreign  lands, 
have  we  reason  to  fear  for  the  future  of  our 
country. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  proper  observance 
of  the  Lord's  day  has  an  important  relation  to 
the  maintenance  of  virtue  and  intelligence  among 
the  people.  It  keeps  their  thoughts  upon  God 
and  upon  the  necessity  of  obeying  his  law.  It 
gives  an  opportunity  for  preaching  the  gospel 
and  the  pure  morality  which  forms  a  part  of  it. 
It  makes  it  possible  for  Christian  men  and  women 
to  instruct  in  Bible  truth  those  children  and  youth 
who  would  otherwise  be  neglected.  On  the  Lord's 
day,  while  tired  bodies  are  rested,  vacant  minds 
can  be  filled  with  food  for  thought.  Its  influence 
is  calculated  to  make  men  thoughtful ;  and  none 

(160) 


Obligations  Respecting  the  Lord's  Day.     387 

but  a  thoughtful  people  are  fit  for  freedom  and 

self-government.     It  saves   the  working   classes 

from  oppression,  and  promotes  their  self-respect; 

it  has  lessons  of  humility  to  teach  the  rich  and 

great.     It  is  a  constant  check  upon  the  world- 

liness  and  the  greed  for  gain  which,  in  a  country 

of  such  unlimited  resources,  tend  to  absorb  the 

minds  and  hearts  of  the  people.     In  a  word,  it  is 

an  essential  condition  of  the  existence  of  those 

virtues  which  are  the  root  of  all  prosperity.     Said 

an  eminent  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 

United   States,*  "Where  there  is  no  Christian 

Sabbath,    there   is    no    Christian   morality;    and 

without  this,   free   government   cannot   long   be 

sustained." 

There  is  a  close  and  vital  relation  between  the 
maintenance  of  a  free  government  and  the  proper 
observance  of  the  Lord's  day.  It  is  almost  ax- 
iomatic that  "a  free  people  must  be  a  thoughtful 
people."  How  can  they  be  thoughtful  if  every 
day  in  the  year  is  given  to  toil  or  to  pleasure  ? 
Despots  are  always  anxious  to  amuse  their  peo- 
ple, but  dread  to  have  them  think.  The  right 
use  of  Sunday  is  the  best  possible  promoter  of 
the  thoughtfulness  and  sobriety  which  a  people 
must  have  if  they  are  to  be  fitted  for  citizenship 


*  McLean. 

(161) 


388    Nature  and  Imijortaiwe  of  the  Sahhath. 

in  a  republic.  Those  who  cry  out  against  the 
tyranny  of  Sunday  laws  are  probably  too  blind 
to  see  that  the  abolition  of  the  Lord's  day  would 
be  the  first  step  in  the  preparation  of  themselves 
to  be  deprived  of  all  liberty.  But  we  who  love 
our  free  government,  and  believe  that  it  is  the 
best  form  of  government  for  intelligent  human 
beings,  will  do  well  to  guard  by  every  means  in 
our  power  the  sanctity  of  the  Lord's  day.  Says 
Joseph  Cook,  "  I  am  no  fanatic,  I  hope,  as  to 
Sunday ;  but  I  look  abroad  over  the  map  of  pop- 
ular freedom  in  the  world,  and  it  does  not  seem 
to  me  accidental  that  Switzerland,  Scotland,  Eng- 
land and  the  United  States,  the  countries  which 
best  observe  Sunday,  constitute  almost  the  entire 
map  of  safe  popular  government."  * 

It  is  hardly  possible  to  doubt  that  the  pros- 
perity of  England  and  of  this  country  in  the  past 
is  owing  largely  to  the  happy  influence  flowing 
from  a  careful  observance  of  the  Lord's  day. 
One  does  not  have  to  be  a  partial  witness  in  order 
to  bear  this  testimony.  Says  the  celebrated 
Count  Montalembert,  himself  a  Frenchman  and  a 
zealous  Roman  Catholic,  "  Impartial  men  are  con- 
vinced that  the  political  education  by  which  the 
lower  classes  of  the  English  nation  surpass  other 


*  Boston  Monday  Lectures:  "Biology"  (prelude),  p.  162. 
(162) 


Obligations  ResiJecting  the  Lord's  Day.     389 

nations — that  the  extraordinary  wealth  of  England 
and  its  supreme  maritime  power — are  clear  proofs 
of  the  blessing  of  God  bestowed  upon  this  nation 
for  its  distinguished  Sabbath  observance.  Those 
who  behold  the  enormous  commerce  of  England, 
in  the  harbors,  the  railways,  the  manuftictories, 
etc.,  cannot  see  without  astonishment  the  qufet 
of  the  Sabbath  day."  Until  recently  our  observ- 
ance of  the  Lord's  day  has  been  fully  as  strict  as 
that  of  England,  and  we  do  not  doubt  that  our 
rapid  growth  in  material  wealth  and  in  civilization 
is  traceable  to  this  as  one  of  its  causes. 

We  have  spoken  only  of  the  natural  results  of 
keeping  the  Sabbath.  We  believe  that,  beyond 
such  results,  we  may  also  expect  it  to  secure  the 
blessing  of  God.  He  conditioned  the  prosperity 
of  Israel  upon  their  faithfulness  to  this  obligation. 
Is  there  not  here  a  lesson  for  us  ?  Are  we  not 
under  the  same  moral  law,  with  clearer  light  and 
greater  privileges?  Unless  God  has  ceased  to 
reign  over  the  nations,  we  cannot  hope  to  prosper 
while  trampling  upon  his  laws.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  believe  that  "blessed  is  the  nation 
whose  God  is  the  Lord."  Prosperity  or  calamity 
will  come  according  to  established  conditions;  but 
behind  all  law  is  the  Omnipotent,  and  the  des- 
tinies of  nations  are  in  his  hands.  If  we  become 
a  people   without  a   Sabbath,  we  may  certainly 

(163) 


390    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sahhath. 

look  for  the  decay  of  our  institutions  and  the 
destruction  of  all  that  we  hold  dear.  Moreover, 
we  may  expect  to  see  the  masses  of  the  people 
degraded  and  brutalized,  while  a  cynical  disre- 
gard for  the  rights  of  the  poor,  and  a  slavish 
devotion  to  the  pleasures  and  honors  of  this  world, 
will  take  possession  of  the  more  favored.  There 
is  something  terribly  suggestive  in  the  Oriental 
legend  which  narrates  that  a  certain  colony  of 
Jews  degenerated  into  monkeys  on  account  of 
long-continued  neglect  of  the  Sabbath.  We  shall 
not  become  a  nation  of  monkeys,  even  though  we 
give  up  the  Lord's  day ;  but  we  may  become 
something  worse.  We  do  not  think  Dr.  SchafT 
puts  the  matter  too  strongly  when  he  says,  '^Take 
away  the  Sabbath,  and  you  destroy  the  most 
humane  and  most  democratic  institution  which  in 
every  respect  was  made  for  man,  but  more  par- 
ticularly for  the  man  of  labor  and  toil,  of  poverty 
and  sorrow.  Take  away  the  Sabbath,  and  you 
destroy  a  mighty  conservative  force,  and  dry  up 
a  fountain  from  which  the  family,  the  church  and 
the  state  receive  constant  nourishment  and  sup- 
port. Take  away  the  Sabbath,  and  you  shake 
the  moral  foundations  of  our  national  power  and 
prosperity;  our  churches  will  be  forsaken,  our 
Sunday-schools  emptied,  our  domestic  devotions 
will  languish,  the  fountains  of  public  and  private 

(164) 


Obligations  Eesjjcding  the  Lord's  Day.     391 

virtue  will  dry  up ;  a  flood  of  profanity,  licen- 
tiousness and  vice  will  inundate  the  land ;  labor 
will  lose  its  reward,  liberty  be  deprived  of  its 
pillar,  self-government  will  prove  a  failure,  and 
our  republican  institutions  end  in  anarchy  and 
confusion,  to  give  way,  in  due  time,  to  the  most 
oppressive  and  degrading  military  despotism 
known  in  the  annals  of  history.  Yea,  the  end 
of  the  Sabbath  would  be  for  America  the  begin- 
ning of  the  unlimited  reign  of  the  infernal  idol- 
trinity  of  Mammon,  Bacchus  and  Venus,  and 
overwhelm  us  at  last  in  temporal  and  eternal 
ruin."  * 

Our  conclusion  is  that  to  keep  the  Lord's  day 
holy,  and  to  do  all  in  our  power  to  induce  others 
to  keep  it  holy,f  are  duties  which  we  owe  to  God, 
to  our  fellow  men,  to  ourselves,  to  our  families 
and  to  our  country.  We  have  reached  this  con- 
clusion by  a  consideration  of  the  origin,  history 
and  importance  of  the  Sabbath.  We  may  be 
certain  that  if  each  one  of  us  does  his  duty  in 
relation  to  it,  this  blessed  institution  will  be  pre- 
served for  toiling  and  sinning  humanity,  and  will 
perform  its  glorious  mission  in  lifting  our  race  to 
a  loftier  state  of  beins;.    Indeed,  we  feel  confident 


*  Princeton  Review^  vol.  xxxv.  p.  570. 

t  See  Appendix  F  for  uiethods  of  doing  this. 

(165) 


392    Nature  and  Importance  of  the  Sabbath, 

that,  though  the  prospects  appear  now  somewhat 
unfavorable,  the  Lord's  day  will  be  more  and 
more  widely  observed,  and  that  its  observance 
will  be  more  and  more  in  accordance  with  the 
precepts  of  the  gospel.     Just  as  we  believe  that 

''Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun 
Does  his  successive  journeys  run," 

so  we  believe  that  the  day  Avhich  commemorates 
his  triumph  over  death  and  bears  his  name  will 
be  universally  observed.  But  we  may  miss  the 
blessing  and  the  glory,  we  may  fail  to  share  in 
the  triumph,  if  we  do  not  do  our  duty  respect- 
ing it.  If  we  would  enjoy  hereafter  the  endless 
Sabbath  of  unspeakable  delight  which  awaits  the 
redeemed,  we  must,  while  here  on  earth,  learn  to 
enjoy  the  rest  and  the  worship  and  the  Christian 
work  of  our  Lord's  day. 

"  Welcome  that  day,  the  day  of  holy  peace, 

The  Lord's  own  day  !  to  man's  Creator  owed 

And  man's  Redeemer;  for  the  soul's  increase 
In  sanctity,  the  sweet  repose  bestowed  5 

Type  of  the  rest  when  sin  and  care  shall  cease, 
The  rest  remaining  for  the  loved  of  God." 


(166) 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX  A. 

The  following  is  a  partial  list  of  works  on  the  Lord's 
day.  Only  the  more  important  are  mentioned,  as  a  com- 
plete list  w^ould  be  of  little  value  to  the  general  reader. 
No  attempt  has  been  made  to  enumerate  the  review  articles 
on  the  subject,  since  they  can  easily  be  referred  to  in 
Poole's  Index,  which  may  be  found  in  every  well-equipped 
library.  For  the  convenience  of  those  who  may  wish  to 
investigate  the  subject,  I  have  classified  the  works  men- 
tioned according  to  the  views  which  they  present. 

I. — WORKS    ADVOCATING    THE    CHRISTIAN-SABBATH    VIEW. 

1.  The  Doctrine  of  the  Sabbath,  Plainely  Layde  Forth 
and  Soundly  Proved,  etc.,  by  Nicholas  Bound,  D.D.,  of 
England.     London,  1606.     4to.     Pp.  479. 

2.  The  Sabbath  Viewed  in  the  Light  of  Keason,  Keve- 
lation  and  History,  with  Sketches  of  its  Literature,  by  Rev. 
James  Gilfillan,  of  Scotland.  American  Tract  Society. 
Pp.  635. 

3.  Prize  Essays  on  the  Temporal  Advantages  of  the 
Sabbath,  by  English  Workingmen.  Published  by  the 
Presbyterian  Board  of  Publication,  Philadelphia. 

4.  Prize  Sermons  on  the  Sabbath.  (1883.)  S.  W.  Part- 
ridge &  Co.,  London.     Pp.  292. 

5.  The  Abiding  Sabbath,  by  Rev.  George  Elliott. 
(Fletcher  Prize  Book,  1884.)  American  Tract  Society. 
Pp.  275. 

(167) 


394  Appendix. 

6.  The  Sabbath  for  Man,  by  Rev.  W.  F.  Crafts.  (1884.) 
Funk  &  Wagnalls,  New  York  city.     Pp.  638. 

7.  Eight  Studies  on  the  Lord's  Day.  (1885.)  Anony- 
mous.    Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co.,  Boston. 

8.  Among  the  review  articles,  I  would  call  special  atten- 
tion to  a  series  of  able  articles  in  the  Bibliotheca  Sacra 
(1879-81),  by  Rev.  William  DeLoss  Love,  D.D.,  and  to 
an  article  by  Dr.  Philip  Schaff,  in  the  Princeton  Review, 
vol.  XXXV.  p.  570. 

II. — WORKS   ADVOCATING   THE   DOMINICAL   VIEW. 

1.  Sunday :  its  Origin,  History  and  Present  Obligations 
(Bampton  Lectures  for  1860),  by  J.  A.  Hessey.  Pott, 
Young  &  Co.,  New  York  city.     Pp.  436. 

2.  An  article  entitled  Sunday  Question.  Fortnightly 
Review,  vol.  iv.  p.  764. 

III. — WORKS   ADVOCATING   THE   ECCLESIASTICAL   VIEW. 

1.  History  of  the  Sabbath,  by  Peter  Heylin,  D.D.,  of 
England.  Published  in  London,  1636.  2  vols.,  4to. 
Pp.  190  and  272. 

2.  The  Lord's  Day  (1853),  by  E.  W.  Hengstenberg,  of 
Germany.  Translated  into  English  by  James  Martin, 
London,  1853.  8vo.  Pp.  106.  (His  view  differs  some- 
what from  the  ecclesiastical,  but  we  must  place  his  work 
here  rather  than  in  any  other  of  our  lists.) 

3.  Sunday,  by  E.  H.  Plumptre.  Alexander  Strahan, 
London. 

4.  Sermons  on  the  Sabbath,  by  F.  D.  Maurice. 

IV. — WORKS  ADVOCATING  THE  OBSERVANCE  OF  THE  LORD's 
DAY   ON   GROUNDS   OF   EXPEDIENCY. 

1.  Tae  Sabbath   Question,  by  Geo.  B.  Bacon.      G.  P. 
Putnam's   Sons,   New   York   city.      Pp.   263.      (Includes 
(168) 


Apfendix.  395 

speeches  by  his  brother,  L.  W.  Bacon,  on  Sunday  Observ- 
ance and  Sunday  Laws.) 

2.  Sabbath  Laws  and  Sabbath  Duties,  by  Robert  Cox, 
of  Scotland.  Simpkins,  Marshall  &  Co.,  London.  Pp. 
600. 

3.  History  of  Sabbath  Literature,  by  the  same  author. 
Same  publishers,  1865.     2  vols.     Pp.  480  and  499. 

V. — WORKS   ADVOCATING   THE   SEVENTH-DAY   SABBATH 
VIEW. 

1.  History  of  the  Sabbath,  by  J.  N.  Andrews.  Seventh- 
day  Adventist  Publication  Association,  Battle  Creek,  Mich. 
Pp.  536. 

2.  The  Sabbath  and  the  Sunday,  by  A.  H.  Lewis. 
American  Sabbath  Tract  Society,  Plainfield,  N.  J. 

VI. — WORKS    ON    THE    RELATION    OF    THE    PRIMITIVE    AND 
CHRISTIAN   SABBATHS. 

1.  The  Primitive  Sabbath  Restored  by  Christ,  by  Rev. 
James  Johnson.     Nesbit  &  Co.,  London.     Pp.  42. 

2.  The  Two  Sabbaths,  by  Rev.  E.  Q.  Fuller.  Phillips 
&  Hunt,  Kevv  York  city.     Pp.  101. 

3.  The  Sabbath :  Patriarchal,  Mosaic,  Christian.  (Exeter 
Hall  Lectures,  1856-7.) 

One  who  Welshes  to  inform  himself  on  the  subject  can  do 
so  thoroughly  by  reading  a  few  wisely-chosen  works.  The 
historical  aspect  of  the  question  is  fully  presented  in  Hes- 
sey's  "  Sunday  ";  the  argument  for  the  Christian-sabbath 
view  is  covered  in  the  present  work ;  and  the  present  state 
of  Sunday  observance  is  indicated  with  great  fullness  of 
detail  in  Craft's  "  The  Sabbath  for  Man." 


(169) 


396  Appendix, 

Appendix  b. 

It  was  suggested  to  me  by  a  friend  that  the  effects  on 
the  human  system  of  continuous  labor,  and  of  labor  inter- 
rupted by  a  weekly  Sabbath,  might  be  represented  to  the 
eye  by  means  of  a  diagram.  He  had  seen  something  of 
the  kind,  but  did  not  describe  it  to  me.  Taking  advantage 
of  his  hint,  I  have  constructed  the  annexed  diagram  for  the 
purpose  suggested.  It  is  not  claimed  that  it  is  a  math- 
ematically-exact representation  of  the  facts  in  the  case,  but 
only  that  it  represents  them  in  a  general  way.  In  order  to 
meet  any  possible  charge  of  fancifulness,  I  have  shown  the 
diagram  to  several  physicians,  and  every  one  of  them 
asserts  that,  as  to  the  general  fact,  it  is  correct. 

This  diagram  is  intended  to  represent  the  effect  produced 
on  the  vital  forces  of  the  human  system  by  work,  and  by 
rest  obtained  at  night  and  on  the  weekly  Sabbath.  The 
spaces  between  the  vertical  lines  represent  days  and  nights 
as  indicated.  The  horizontal  lines  represent  the  vital  force, 
line  1  being  the  normal  condition.  The  work  of  each  day 
lowers  this ;  the  rest  of  the  night  following  partially  restores 
it,  but  not  wholly.  It  gets  lower  and  lower  till  Saturday 
night,  but  the  rest  of  Sunday  and  of  two  nights  brings  it 
back  to  the  normal  condition.  This  is  represented  by  the 
first  zig-zag  line.  But  if  a  hard  worker  does  not  rest  on 
Sunday  his  vital  force  will  continue  to  diminish,  until  in  a 
few  years  he  will  be  completely  exhausted.  This  is  shown 
by  the  second  zig-zag  line.  Suppose  the  sum  total  of  one's 
vital  force  to  be  represented  by  two  thousand  of  the  spaces 
between  the  horizontal  lines,  then  one  working  steadily 
without  a  Sabbath  would  reach  the  bottom  and  die  of 
exhaustion  in  about  twelve  years. 

(170) 


7. 

6. 

5. 

4. 

3. 

2. 

1. 

4. 

3. 

2. 

1. 

/ 

/ 

Monday. 

\ 

\ 

Mon.  Night. 

> 

/ 

/ 

Tuesday. 

v 

S 

^ 

s 

Tues.  Night. 

> 

> 

/ 

/* 

Wednesday. 

N. 

\ 

Wed.  Night. 

>^ 

/ 

Thursday. 

\^ 

s 

Thur.  Night. 

y 

X 

/ 

Friday, 

\ 

s 

\ 

Fri.  Night. 

> 

? 

/ 

/ 

Saturday. 

N. 

\ 

Sat.  Night. 

>^ 

X 

^ 

Sunday. 

N. 

\ 

Sun.  Night. 

y 

^ 

y^ 

Monday. 

\ 

\ 

Mon.  Night. 

/ 

> 

/^ 

Tuesday. 

\ 

s 

Tues.  Night. 

> 

? 

>^ 

/ 

Wednesday. 

\ 

\— 

\ 

Wed.  Night. 

^ 

/ 

y^ 

Thursday. 

\ 

N. 

Thur.  Night. 

<^ 

J 

/ 

Friday. 

\ 

\ 

Fri.  Night. 

-_v 

/ 

/ 

/ 

Saturday. 

^\ 

\ 

\ 

Sat.  Night. 

^ 

/ 

\ 

v 

Sunday. 

\ 

\ 

Sun.  Night. 

\A 

/ 

Monday. 

398  Appendix, 

APPENDIX  C. 

I  give  below  the  principal  passages  of  Scripture  relating 
to  the  Sabbath,  quoting  from  the  Revised  Version  (1881- 
1885).  It  would  take  too  much  space  to  quote  every  verse 
in  which  the  Sabbath  is  referred  to,  but  enough  are  given 
to  represent  accurately  and  fully  the  teaching  of  the  Bible 
on  the  subject.  No  important  passage  is  omitted,  and  none 
w^iich  contains  a  doctrine  different  from  those  presented  in 
the  quoted  passages.  This  collection  will  be  found  con- 
venient by  the  student  of  the  subject,  and  any  one  who 
reads  through  these  words  of  holy  writ  cannot  but  be  im- 
pressed by  the  importance  which  is  given  to  the  Sabbath 
in  the  word  of  God. 


7, 


THE   EARLY   SABBATH. 

Afid/pii  the  seventh  day  God  finished  his  work  which  he 
had  made :  and  he  rested  on  the  seventh  day  from  all  his 
work  which  he  had  made.  And  God  blessed  the  seventh 
day,  and  hallowed  it :  because  that  in  it  he  rested  from  all 
his  work  which  God  had  created  and  made. —  Gen.  2  :  2,  ^.y 

And  it  came  to  pass,  that  on  the  sixth  day  they  gathered 
twice  as  much  bread,  two  omers  for  each  one :  and  all  the 
rulers  of  the  congregation  came  and  told  Moses.  And  he 
said  unto  them.  This  is  that  which  the  Lord  hath  spoken, 
To-morrow  is  a  solemn  rest,  a  holy  sabbath  unto  the  Lord : 
bake  that  which  ye  will  bake  and  seethe  that  which  ye  will 
seethe ;  and  all  that  remaineth  over  lay  up  for  you  to  be 
kept  until  the  morning.  And  they  laid  it  up  till  the  morn- 
ing, as  Moses  bade ;  and  it  did  not  stink,  neither  was  there 
any  worm  therein.  And  Moses  said.  Eat  that  to-day ;  for 
to-day  is  a  sabbath  unto  the  Lord :  to-xlay  ye  shall  not  find 
it  in  the  field.  Six  days  ye  shall  gather  it ;  but  on  the 
seventh  day  is  the  sabbath,  in  it  there  shall  be  none.  And 
(172) 


Appendix.  399 

it  came  to  pass  on  the  seventh  day,  that  there  went  out 
some  of  the  people  for  to  gather,  and  they  found  none. 
And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  How  long  refuse  ye  to  keep 
my  commandments  and  my  laws  ?  See,  for  that  the  Lord 
hath  given  you  the  sabbath,  therefore  he  giveth  you  on  the 
sixth  day  the  bread  of  two  days :  abide  ye  every  man  in 
his  place,  let  no  man  go  out  of  his  place  on  the  seventh  day. 
So  the  people  rested  on  the  seventh  day. — Ex.  16  :  22-30. 

THE   SABBATH   OF   THE   LAW. 

"^-.      Remember  the  sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy.     Six  days 

X  shalt  thou  labour,  and  do  all  thy  work :  but  the  seventh 

'    day  is  a  sabbath  unto  the  Lord  thy  God :  in  it  thou  shalt 

not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  thy 

manservant,  nor  thy  maidservant,  nor  thy  cattle,  nor  thy 

I    stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates :  for  in  six  days  the  Lord 

made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is, 

and  rested  the  seventh  day :  wherefore  the  Lord  blessed 

the  sabbath  day,  and  hallowed  it. — Ex.  20  :  8-11. 

"Six  days  thou  shalt  do  thy  work,  and  on  the  seventh  day 

thou  shalt  rest :  that  thine  ox  and  thine  ass  may  have  rest, 

and  the  son  of  thy  handmaid,  and  the  stranger  may  be 

refreshed.— jEo^.  23  :  12. 

Six  days  thou  shalt  work,  but  on  the  seventh  day  thou 
shalt  rest :  in  plowing  time  and  in  harvest  thou  shalt  rest. 
—Ex.  34 :  21. 

Six  days  shall  work  be  done,  but  on  the  seventh  day 
there  shall  be  to  you  an  holy  day,  a  sabbath  of  solemn  rest 
to  the  Lord  :  whosoever  doeth  any  work  therein  shall  be 
put  to  death.     Ye  shall  kindle  no  fire  throughout  your 
•Jjjiabitations  upon  the  sabbath  diXY.—Ex.  35  :  2,  3. 

tYe  shall  keep  my  sabbaths,  and  reverence  my  sanctuary. 
Lev.  19 :  30. 

(173) 


400  Appendix. 

Six  days  shall  work  be  done :  but  on  the  seventh  day  is 
la  sabbath  of  solemn  rest,  an  holy  convocation ;  ye  shall  do 
no  manner  of  work :  it  is  a  sabbath  unto  the  Lord  in  all 
^  ^our  dwellings. — Lev.  23  :  3. 

And  while  the  children  of  Israel  were  in  the  wilderness, 
they  found  a  man  gathering  sticks  upon  the  sabbath  day. 
And  they  that  found  him  gathering  sticks  brought  him 
unto  Moses  and  Aaron,  and  unto  all  the  congregation. 
And  they  put  him  in  ward,  because  it  had  not  been  de- 
clared what  should  be  done  to  him.  And  the  Lord  said 
unto  Moses,  The  man  shall  surely  be  put  to  death  :  all  the 
congregation  shall  stone  him  with  stones  without  the  camp. 
And  all  the  congregation  brought  him  without  the  camp, 
and  stoned  him  with  stones,  and  he  died  ;  as  the  Lord 
commanded  Moses. — Num.  15  :  32-36. 

Six  days  shalt  thou  labour,  and  do  all  thy  work :  but  the 
seventh  day  is  a  sabbath  unto  the  Lord  thy  God :  in  it 
thou  shalt  not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy 
daughter,  nor  thy  manservant,  nor  thy  maidservant,  nor 
thine  ox,  nor  thine  ass,  nor  any  of  thy  cattle,  nor  thy 
stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates :  that  thy  manservant  and 
thy  maidservant  may  rest  as  well  as  thou.  And  thou  shalt 
remember  that  thou  wast  a  servant  in  the  land  of  Egypt, 
and  the  Lord  thy  God  brought  thee  out  thence  by  a 
mighty  hand  and  by  a  stretched  out  arm :  therefore  the 
Lord  thy  God  commanded  thee  to  keep  the  sabbath  day. 
^Deut.  5  :  13-15. 

THE   SABBATH   OF   THE    PROPHETS   AND   REFORMERS 
OF   ISRAEL. 

And  she  called  unto  her  husband,  and  said.  Send  me,  I 
pray  thee,  one  of  the  servants,  and  one  of  the  asses,  that  I 
may  run  to  the  man  of  God,  and  come  again.     And  he 
(174) 


Appendix.  401 

said,  Wherefore  wilt  thou  go  to  him  to-day  ?  it  is  neither 
new  moon  nor  sabbath.  And  she  said,  It  shall  be  well. — 
2  Kings  4  :  22,  23. 

Thou  earnest  down  also  upon  mount  Sinai,  and  spakest 
with  them  from  heaven,  and  gavest  them  right  judgments 
and  true  laws,  good  statutes  and  commandments :  and 
madest  known  unto  them  thy  holy  sabbath,  and  command- 
edst  them  commandments,  and  statutes,  and  a  law,  by  the 
hand  of  Moses  thy  servant. — Neh.  9  :  13,  14. 

They  .  .  .  entered  .  .  .  into  an  oath  .  .  .  that  ...  if 
the  peoples  of  the  land  bring  ware  or  any  victuals  on  the 
sabbath  day  to  sell,  that  we  would  not  buy  of  them  on  the 
sabbath,  or  on  a  holy  day  :  and  that  we  would  forego  the 
seventh  year,  and  the  exaction  of  every  debt. — Neh.  10  : 
29-31. 

Then  I  testified  against  them,  and  said  unto  them.  Why 
lodge  ye  about  the  wall  ?  if  ye  do  so  again,  I  will  lay  hands 
on  you.  From  that  time  forth  came  they  no  more  on  the 
sabbath.— i\'e/i.  13  :  21. 

Blessed  is  the  man  that  doeth  this,  and  the  son  of  man 
that  holdeth  fast  by  it ;  that  keepeth  the  sabbath  from  pro- 
faning it,  and  keepeth  his  hand  from  doing  any  evil.  Also 
the  strangers,  that  join  themselves  to  the  Lord,  to  minister 
unto  him,  and  to  love  the  name  of  the  Lord,  to  be  his 
servants,  every  one  that  keepeth  the  sabbath  from  profan- 
ing it,  and  holdeth  fast  by  my  covenant ;  even  them  will  I 
bring  to  my  holy  mountain,  and  make  them  joyful  in  my 
house  of  prayer ;  their  burnt  offerings  and  their  sacrifices 
shall  be  accepted  upon  mine  altar :  for  mine  house  shall  be 
called  an  house  of  prayer  for  all  peoples. — Isa.  56  :  2,  6,  7. 

If  thou  turn  away  thy  foot  from  the  sabbath,  from  doing 
thy  pleasure  on  my  holy  day ;  and  call  the  sabbath  a  de- 
light, and  the  holy  of  the  Lord  honourable ;  and  shalt 
26  (175) 


402  Appendix. 

honour  it,  not  doing  thine  Own  ways,  nor  finding  thine  own 
pleasure,  nor  speaking  thine  own  words  :  then  shalt  thou 
delight  thyself  in  the  Lord  ;  and  I  will  make  thee  ride 
upon  the  high  places  of  the  earth ;  and  I  will  feed  thee 
with  the  heritage  of  Jacob  thy  father :  for  the  mouth  of 
the  Lord  hath  spoken  it. — Isa.  58  :  13,  14. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord  :  Take  heed  to  yourselves,  and  bear 
no  burden  on  the  sabbath  day,  nor  bring  it  in  by  the  gates 
of  Jerusalem ;  neither  carry  forth  a  burden  out  of  your 
houses  on  the  sabbath  day,  neither  do  ye  any  work :  but 
hallow  ye  the  sabbath  day,  as  I  commanded  your  fathers  ; 
but  they  hearkened  not,  neither  inclined  their  ear,  but 
made  their  neck  stiff,  that  they  might  not  hear,  and  might 
not  receive  instruction.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  if  ye 
diligently  hearken  unto  me,  saith  the  Lord,  to  bring  in  no 
burden  through  the  gates  of  this  city  on  the  sabbath  day, 
but  to  hallow  the  sabbath  day,  to  do  no  work  therein ;  then 
shall  there  enter  in  by  the  gates  of  this  city  kings  and 
princes  sitting  upon  the  throne  of  David,  riding  in  char- 
iots and  on  horses,  they,  and  their  princes,  the  men  of 
Judah,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem:  and  this  city 
shall  remain  for  ever.  And  they  shall  come  from  the  cities 
of  Judah,  and  from  the  places  round  about  Jerusalem,  and 
from  the  land  of  Benjamin,  and  from  the  lowland,  and  from 
the  mountains,  and  from  the  South,  bringing  burnt  offerings 
and  sacrifices,  and  oblations,  and  frankincense,  and  bring- 
ing sacrifices  of  thanksgiving,  unto  the  house  of  the  Lord. 
But  if  ye  will  not  hearken  unto  me  to  hallow  the  sabbath 
day,  and  not  to  bear  a  burden  and  enter  in  at  the  gates  of 
Jerusalem  on  the  sabbath  day ;  then  will  I  kindle  a  fire  in 
the  gates  thereof,  and  it  shall  devour  the  palaces  of  Jeru- 
salem, and  it  shall  not  be  quenched. — Jer.  17  :  21-27. 

I  am  the  Lord  your  God  ;  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  keep 
(176J 


Appendix.  403 

my  judgments,  and  do  them  :  and  hallow  my  sabbaths  ;  and 
they  shall  be  a  sign  between  me  and  you,  that  ye  may 
know  that  I  am  the  Lord  your  God.  But  the  children 
rebelled  against  me ;  they  walked  not  in  my  statutes,  neither 
kept  my  judgments  to  do  them,  which  if  a  man  do,  he  shall 
live  in  them  ;  they  profaned  my  sabbaths :  then  I  said  I 
would  pour  out  my  fury  upon  them,  to  accomplish  my 
anger  against  them  in  the  wilderness. — Ezek.  20  :  19-21. 

Thou  hast  despised  mine  holy  things,  and  hast  profaned 
my  sabbaths.  Her  priests  have  done  violence  to  my  law, 
and  have  profaned  my  holy  things  :  they  have  put  no  differ- 
ence between  the  holy  and  the  common,  nciLher  have  they 
caused  men  to  discern  between  the  unclean  and  the  clean, 
and  have  hid  their  eyes  from  the  sabbaths,  and  I  am  pro- 
faned among  them. — Ezeh.  22  :  8,  26. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord  God :  The  gate  of  the  inner  court 
that  looketh  toward  the  east  shall  be  shut  the  six  working 
days ;  but  on  the  sabbath  day  it  shall  be  opened,  and  in  the 
day  of  the  new  moon  it  shall  be  opened.  And  the  people 
of  the  land  shall  worship  at  the  door  of  that  gate  before 
the  Lord  in  the  sabbaths  and  in  the  new  moons. — Ezek. 
46  : 1,  3. 

Hear  this,  O  ye  that  would  swallow  up  the  needy,  and 
cause  the  poor  of  the  land  to  fail,  saying,  When  will  the 
new  moon  be  gone,  that  we  may  sell  corn  ?  and  the  sabbath, 
that  we  may  set  forth  wheat?  making  the  ephah  small,  and 
the  shekel  great,  and  dealing  falsely  with  balances  of  de- 
ceit ;  that  we  may  buy  the  poor  for  silver,  and  the  needy 
for  a  pair  of  shoes,  and  sell  the  refuse  of  the  wheat.  The 
Lord  hath  sworn  by  the  excellency  of  Jacob,  Surely  I  will 
never  forget  any  of  their  works. — Amos  8  :  4-7. 


(177) 


404  Appendix. 

CHRIST   AND   THE   SABBATH. 

At  that  season  Jesus  went  on  the  sabbath  day  through 
the  cornfields  ;  and  his  disciples  were  an  hungred,  and  began 
to  pluck  the  ears  of  corn,  and  to  eat.  But  the  Pharisees, 
when  they  saw  it,  said  unto  him.  Behold,  thy  disciples  do 
that  which  it  is  not  lawful  to  do  upon  the  sabbath.  But 
he  said  unto  them,  Have  ye  not  read  what  David  did,  when 
he  was  an  hungred,  and  they  that  were  with  him ;  how  he 
entered  into  the  house  of  God,  and  did  eat  the  shewbread, 
which  it  was  not  lawful  for  him  to  eat,  neither  for  them  that 
were  with  him,  but  only  for  the  priests  ?  Or  have  y*  not 
read  in  the  law,  how  that  on  the  sabbath  day  the  priests  in 
the  temple  profane  the  sabbath,  and  are  guiltless  ?  But  I 
say  unto  you,  that  one  greater  than  the  temple  is  here.  But 
if  ye  had  knowm  what  this  meaneth,  I  desire  mercy,  and 
not  sacrifice,  ye  would  not  have  condemned  the  guiltless. 
For  the  Son  of  man  is  lord  of  the  sabbath.  And  he  de- 
parted thence,  and  went  into  their  synagogue :  and  behold, 
a  man  having  a  withered  hand.  And  they  asked  him,  say- 
ing, Is  it  lawful  to  heal  on  the  sabbath  day  ?  that  they  might 
accuse  him.  And  he  said  unto  them,  What  man  shall  there 
be  of  you,  that  shall  have  one  sheep,  and  if  this  fall  into  a 
pit  on  the  sabbath  day,  will  he  not  lay  hold  on  it,  and  lift 
it  out  ?  How  much  then  is  a  man  of  more  value  than  a 
sheep !  Wherefore  it  is  lawful  to  do  good  on  the  sabbath 
day.  Then  saith  he  to  the  man,  Stretch  forth  thy  hand. 
And  he  stretched  it  forth  ;  and  it  was  restored  whole,  as  the 
other.— 3fa«.  12  :  1-11.  (Parallel  passages,  Mark  2:  23; 
3:5;  and  Luke  6  : 1,  2.) 

And  they  go  into  Capernaum  ;  and  straightway  on  the 
sabbath  day  he  entered  into  the  synagogue  and  taught. — 
Mark  1  :  21. 

.        And  he  came  to  Nazareth,  where  he  had  been  brought 

-"  \  (178) 


Appendix.  405 

up :  and  he  eutered,  as  his  custom  was,  into  the  synagogue 
ou  the  sabbath  day,  and  stood  up  to  read. — Luke  4  :  16. 

And  behold,  a  woman  which  had  a  spirit  of  infirmity 
eighteen  years ;  and  she  was  bowed  together,  and  coukl  in 
no  wise  lift  herself  up.  And  when  Jesus  saw  her,  ho  called 
her,  and  said  to  her,  Woman,  thou  art  loosed  from  thine 
infirmity.  And  he  laid  his  hands  upon  her:  and  imme- 
diately she  was  made  straight,  and  glorified  God.  And  the 
ruler  of  the  synagogue,  being  moved  with  indignation  be- 
cause Jesus  had  healed  on  the  sabbath,  answered  and  said 
to  the  multitude, ^h ere  are  six  days  in  which  men  ought  to 
work :  in  them  therefore  come  and  be  healed,  and  not  on 
the  day  of  the  sabbath.  But  the  Lord  answered  him,  and 
said,  Ye  hypocrites,  doth  not  each  one  of  you  on  the  sal> 
bath  loose  his  ox  or  his  ass  from  the  stall,  and  lead  him 
away  to  watering?  And  ought  not  this  woman,  being  a 
daughter  of  Abraham,  whom  Satan  hath  bound,  lo,  these 
eighteen  years,  to  have  been  loosed  from  this  bond  ou  the 
_da>M3f  the  sabbath  ?—Xtf^e  13  :  11-16. 

And  it  came  to  pass,  when  he  went  into  the  house  of  one 
of  the  rulers  of  the  Pharisees  on  a  sabbath  to  eat  bread, 
that  they  were  watching  him.  And  behold,  there  was  be- 
fore him  a  certain  man  which  had  the  dropsy.  And  Jesus 
answering  spake  unto  the  lawyers  and  Pharisees,  saying.  Is 
it  lawful  to  heal  on  the  sabbath,  or  not  ?  But  they  held 
their  peace.  And  he  took  him,  and  healed  him,  and  let 
him  go.  And  he  said  unto  them,  Which  of  you  shall  have 
an  ass  or  an  ox  fallen  into  a  well,  and  wdll  not  straightway 
draw  him  up  on  the  sabbath  day  ?  And  they  could  not 
answer  again  unto  these  things. — Liike  14 : 1-6. 

Now  it  was  the  sabbath  on  that  day.  So  the  Jews  said 
unto  him  that  was  cured.  It  is  the  sabbath,  and  it  is  not 
lawful  for  thee  to  take  up  thy  bed.     But  he  answered  them, 

(179) 


406  Appendix. 

He  that  made  me  whole,  the  same  said  nnto  me,  Take  up 
thy  bed,  and  walk.  They  asked  him,  Who  is  the  man  that 
said  unto  thee,  Take  up  thy  bed,  and  walk  ?  But  he  that 
was  healed  wist  not  who  it  was :  for  Jesus  had  conveyed 
himself  away,  a  multitude  being  in  the  place.  Afterward 
Jesus  findeth  him  in  the  temple,  and  said  unto  him,  Behold, 
thou  art  made  whole :  sin  no  more,  lest  a  worse  thing  befall 
thee.  The  man  went  away,  and  told  the  Jews  that  it  was 
Jesus  which  had  made  him  whole.  And  for  this  cause  did 
the  Jews  persecute  Jesus,  because  he  did  these  things  on  the 
sabbath. — John  5  :  10-16. 

They  bring  to  the  Pharisees  him  that  aforetime  was  blind. 
Now  it  was  the  sabbath  on  the  day  when  Jesus  made  the 
clay,  and  opened  his  eyes.  Again  therefore  the  Pharisees 
also  asked  him  how  he  received  his  sight.  And  he  said 
unto  them,  He  put  clay  upon  mine  eyes,  and  I  washed,  and 
do  see.  Some  therefore  of  the  Pharisees  said.  This  man  is 
not  from  God,  because  he  keepeth  not  the  sabbath.  But 
others  said,  How  can  a  man  that  is  a  sinner  do  such  signs  ? 
And  there  was  a  division  among  them. — John  9  :  13-16. 

!N"ow  late  on  the  sabbath  day,  as  it  began  to  dawn  toward 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  came  Mary  Magdalene  and  the 
other  Mary  to  see  the  sepulchre.  And  behold,  there  was  a 
great  earthquake  ;  for  an  angel  of  the  Lord  descended  from 
heaven,  and  came  and  rolled  away  the  stone,  and  sat  upon 
it.  His  appearance  was  as  lightning,  and  his  raiment  white 
as  snow :  and  for  fear  of  him  the  watchers  did  quake,  and 
became  as  dead  men.  And  the  angel  answered  and  said 
unto  the  women,  Fear  not  ye :  for  I  know  that  ye  seek 
Jesus,  which  hath  been  crucified.  He  is  not  here ;  for  he 
is  risen,  even  as  he  said. — Matt.  28  : 1-6.  (Parallel  pas- 
sages, Mark  16  : 1-8  ;  Luke  24  : 1-9  ;  and  John  20  : 1-10.) 

And  after  eight  days  again  his  disciples  were  within,  and 
(180) 


Appendix.  407 

Thomas  with  them.  Jesus  cometh,  the  doors  being  shut, 
and  stood  in  the  midst,  and  said,  Peace  be  unto  you. — John 
20 :  26. 

THE   SABBATH   AND   THE   APOSTLES. 

And  when  the  day  of  Pentecost  was  now  come,  they  were 
all  together  in  one  place.  And  suddenly  there  came  from 
heaven  a  sound  as  of  the  rushing  of  a  mighty  wind,  and  it 
filled  all  the  house  where  they  were  sitting.  And  there 
appeared  unto  them  tongues  parting  asunder,  like  as  of 
fire ;  and  it  sat  upon  each  of  them.  And  they  were  all 
filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  began  to  speak  with 
other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance. — Ads 
2  : 1-4. 

And  on  the  sabbath  day  we  went  forth  without  the  gate 
by  a  river  side,  where  we  supposed  there  was  a  place  of 
prayer ;  and  we  sat  down  and  spake  unto  the  women  which 
were  come  together. — Acts  16  :  13. 

And  Paul,  as  his  custom  was,  went  in  unto  them,  and  for 
three  sabbath  days  reasoned  with  them  from  the  scriptures. 
—Acts  17  :  2. 

And  he  reasoned  in  the  synagogue  every  sabbath,  and 
persuaded  Jews  and  Greeks. — Acts  18  :  4. 

And  upon  the  first   day  of  the  week,  when  we  were 
gathered  together  to  break  bread,  Paul  discoursed  with 
them,  intending  to  depart  on  the  morrow ;  and  prolonged 
,  his  speech  until  midnight. — Acts  20  :  7. 

Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week  let  each  one  of  you  lay 
by  him  in  store,  as  he  may  prosper,  that  no  collections  be 
made  when  I  come. — 1  Cor.  16  :  2. 

One  man  esteemeth  one  day  above  another:  another 
esteemeth  every  day  alike.  Let  every  man  be  fully  as- 
sured in  his  own  mind. — Rom.  14  :  5. 

Ye  observe  days,  and  months,  and  seasons,  and  years.    I 

(181) 


408  Appendix. 

am  afraid  of  you,  lest  by  any  means  I  have  bestowed  labour 
upon  you  in  vain. —  Gal.  4  :  10,  11. 

Let  no  man  therefore  judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or 
in  respect  of  a  feast  day  or  a  new  moon  or  a  sabbath  day : 
which  are  a  shadow  of  the  things  to  come ;  but  the  body  is 
Christ's.— Co^.  2:16,  17. 

Not  forsaking  the  assembling  of  ourselves  together,  as 
the  custom  of  some  is,  but  exhorting  one  another ;  and  so 
much  the  more,  as  ye  see  the  day  drawing  nigh. — Seh. 
10  :  25. 

I  was  in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  day. — Rev.  1 :  10. 


APPENDIX  D. 

ABSTRACT  OF  THE  SUNDAY  LAWS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

(For  most  of  the  facts  in  the  following  brief  abstract  I 
am  indebted  to  Craft's  "  Sabbath  for  Man."  See  his  valu- 
able statement  of  Sunday  laws,  appendix,  275-350.) 

I.  Work  is  prohibited  under  penalties  in  the  shape  of 
fines,  ranging  from  $1  to  $50,  in  all  the  states  and  territo- 
ries, except  California,  Louisiana,  Oregon,  Arizona,  Idaho, 
Montaife,  AVashington  and  Wyoming.  This  is  generally 
interpreted  to  mean  work  for  gain  in  one's  ordinary  call- 
ing. Necessary  work  is  allov.'ed,  and  judges  usually  stretch 
the  word  "  necessary  "  so  as  to  make  it  include  much  that 
is  not  really  necessary.  Louisiana  has  a  local-option  Sun- 
day law.  In  most  cases  those  who  observe  the  seventh-day 
Sabbath  are  allowed  to  engage  on  Sunday  in  such  work  as 
will  not  disturb  those  who  keep  the  latter  day.  Such  a 
provision  ought  to  be  made  in  the  law  of  every  state  and 
territory. 
(182) 


Appendix,  409 

II.  Under  various  penalties,  buying  and  selling,  opening 
stores,  exposing  goods  for  sale,  and  other  kinds  of  business, 
are  prohibited  in  all  the  states  and  territories  except  Cali- 
fornia, Colorado,  Georgia,  Illinois,  Louisiana,  Ohio,  Idaho, 
Montana  and  Wyoming.  In  some  cases,  as  in  Ohio,  the 
law  against  labor  would  be  interpreted  as  covering  most 
kinds  of  business.  To  these  laws  there  are  many  exceptions. 
For  example,  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  allow  the  sale 
of  provisions  at  certain  hours  on  Sunday.  In  New  York 
tobacco,  drugs,  fruits,  papers  and  confectionery  can  be  legal- 
ly sold.    Similar  exceptions  are  made  in  several  other  states. 

III.  The  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks  on  Sunday  is  pro- 
hibited except  in  California,  Colorado,  Florida,  Louisiana, 
Nevada,  Texas,  Arizona,  Idaho,  Montana  and  Wyoming. 
The  penalties  range  from  $2.50  to  $500  in  fines ;  but  in 
Connecticut,  Indiana,  Michigan,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and 
Rhode  Island,  imprisonment  from  ten  days  to  six  months 
may  be  added.  In  some  states  cities  are  allowed  to  regu- 
late the  matter  for  themselves. 

IV.  Contracts  made  on  Sunday  are  illegal  in  Alabama, 
Iowa,  Maine,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  New  Hampshire,  New 
Jersey  and  Wisconsin.  In  other  states  they  are  permitted, 
or  there  is  no  law  on  the  subject. 

V.  Travelling  and  transportation  are  permitted  in  most 
of  the  states.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  limit  or  pro- 
hibit them  in  Delaware,  Maine,  Massachusetts,  New  Jersey, 
North  Carolina,  Pennsylvania,  South  Carolina,  Vermont 
and  Dakota,  but  the  laws  are  practically  dead  letters. 
More  legislation  and  stricter  enforcement  of  the  laws  are 
imperatively  needed  in  this  matter. 

VI.  All  of  the  states  and  territories  which  have  ary 
Sunday  laws  at  all,  except  Ohio,  Virginia  and  Wyoming, 
prohibit  sports  and  amusements  t)f  various  specified  kinds 

(]83) 


410  Appendix. 

on  Sunday.  They  differ  greatly  in  regard  to  the  kinds  of 
sports  named,  but  those  most  commonly  prohibited  are 
hunting,  fishing,  shooting,  dancing,  cards,  gaming,  racing 
and  public  entertainments. 

VII.  All  the  laws  mentioned  are  good  and  ought  to  be 
enforced.  Friends  of  the  Sabbath  in  states  which 'have  no 
Sunday  laws,  or  whose  Sunday  laws  are  inadequate,  should 
secure  their  enactment  at  the  earliest  possible  date.  In  a 
few  states  there  are  Sunday  laws  which  ought  to  be  re- 
pealed. As  examples,  I  may  refer  to  the  law  of  South 
Carolina  which  requires  every  one  to  attend  religious  serv- 
ices, and  that  of  Vermont  which  ordains  that  Sunday  shall 
be  kept  as  a  holy  day  and  that  religious  meetings  must  be 
held  by  every  denomination  of  Christians.  Since  these 
laws  are  obsolete,  it  would  be  better  to  have  them  repealed. 
It  will  be  impossible  to  enforce  reasonable  and  proper 
Sunday  laws  so  long  as  unreasonable  and  improper  laws 
remain  upon  the  statute  books.  For  the  enemies  of  the 
Sabbath  can  make  such  enforcement  unpopular  and  even 
ridiculous  by  enforcing  all  the  Sunday  laws,  the  bad  as 
well  as  the  good.  It  is,  then,  as  much  our  duty  to  see  that 
improper  laws  are  repealed  as  it  is  to  secure  the  enactment 
and  enforcement  of  proper  laws. 

APPENDIX  E. 

While  this  work  was  going  through  the  press,  my  atten- 
tion was  called  to  some  statements  on  "Sunday  Labor"  in 
the  "  Eeport  of  the  Labor  Bureau  of  Massachusetts,"  then 
about  to  be  published.  The  statements  related  mainly  to 
the  running  of  steam-cars  and  horse-cars  on  Sunday. 

I.  The  report  shows  that  the  Sunday  trains  of  forty  years 
ago  were  not  patronized  enough  to  make  them  profitable. 
For  example,  a  Sunday  train  was  put  on  the  Eastern  road 
(184) 


Appendix.  411 

in  1838  and  run  till  1847,  when  it  was  taken  off  for  want 
of  patronage.  But  in  1872  the  experiment  was  again  tried, 
with  better  success.  From  this  last  date  Sunday  railroad- 
ing has  been  steadily  on  the  increase.  This  confirms  my 
assertion  (made  in  the  Introduction)  that  the  sentiments  of 
our  people  with  regard  to  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  day 
have  been  growing  more  lax.  It  shows  also  that  the  people 
can  put  a  stop  to  Sunday  railroading. 

II.  The  report  asserts  that  the  running  of  Sunday  excur- 
sion trains  in  Massachusetts  began  with  a  demand  for  Sun- 
day trains  from  Christian  people  who  lived  in  the  suburbs 
of  Boston,  but  wished  to  attend  church  in  that  city.  Prob- 
ably those  people  did  not  realize  "  whereunto  that  thing 
would  grow,"  but  that  does  not  excuse  them.  In  this  fact 
Christian  people  ought  to  find  a  reason  for  doing  all  in 
their  power  to  stop  the  present  Sunday  excursion  business. 

III.  The  report  says  that  "  human  labor  is  performed  for 
two  purposes,  for  the  production  of  goods  and  for  personal 
service,"  and  claims  that  the  latter  is  far  less  exhausting 
than  the  former.  It  puts  the  labor  of  the  brakeman  and 
the  horse-car  conductor  in  the  second  class,  and  argues 
that  it  does  not  injure  them  to  work  seven  days  in  a  week 
as  it  would  injure  the  weaver  or  the  ploughman. 

Even  considering  the  physical  effects  alone,  this  conclu- 
sion may  be  fairly  questioned.  Although  the  muscles  of  the 
brakeman  have  frequent  intervals  of  rest,  while  those  of  the 
ploughman  are  continually  on  the  strain,  is  he  not  subjected 
to  a  mental  strain  which  more  than  balances  the  account  ? 

But  this  argument  wholly  ignores  the  religious,  which  is 
by  far  the  most  important,  aspect  of  the  question.  If  there  is 
any  class  of  laborers  which  does  not  need  one  day  in  seven 
for  physical  rest,  there  is  no  class  which  does  not  need  it  for 
mental,  social,  and  especially  for  religious,  improvement. 

(185) 


412  Appendix. 

APPENDIX  F. 

It  may  be  that  some  Christian  readers  of  this  book  will 
desire  to  know  more  specifically  what  they  can  do  to  pro- 
mote the  proper  observance  of  the  Lord's  day.  The  follow- 
ing suggestions  are  made  in  the  hope  that  they  may  be  of 
practical  value  to  such  inquirers.  For  the  sake  of  a  better 
classification  I  have  divided  these  hints  into  two  classes : 
first,  those  which  relate  to  the  things  which  Christians 
should  not  do  on  Sunday,  if  they  wish  to  promote  its  better 
observance ;  second,  those  relating  to  some  positive  duties 
which  they  must  perform  before  this  object  will  be  accom- 
plished. To  one  class  I  will  give  the  name  Negative 
Duties,  and  to  the  other,  Positive  Duties,  of  Christians  in 
regard  to  the  Lord's  day  and  its  better  observance. 

NEGATIVE    DUTIES. 

1.  Abstain  not  only  from  all  labor  for  gain  and  all  un- 
necessary work,  but  also  from  pleasure  riding,  worldly 
visiting,  feasting  and  everything  of  the  kind  on  Sunday. 

2.  Do  not  patronize  any  Sabbath-breaking  institution, 
corporation  or  individual.  Do  not  buy  or  read  Sunday 
newspapers.  Do  not  ride  on  the  horse-cars  or  steam-cars 
on  Sunday. 

3.  Do  not  receive  at  your  house  on  Sunday  meat,  ice, 
milk  or  any  other  article  of  consumption,  unless  sickness  or 
some  other  cause  makes  it  absolutely  necessary. 

4.  Do  not  allow  your  servants  to  buy  anything  for  your 
family  on  Sunday. 

5.  Do  not  write  and  mail  letters,  go  to  the  post-office  or 
receive  letters  from  carriers  on  Sunday. 

6.  Do  not  go  on  Sunday  excursions,  or  allow  any  one  to 
go  who  is  under  your  control. 

(186) 


Appendix.  413 

7.  Do  not  join  the  crowd  who  go  to  the  seashore  or  to 
watering-places  to  spend  Sunday. 

8.  Do  not  employ  the  barbei-,  the  cigar  vendor  or  the 
boot-black  on  Sunday. 

9.  Do  not  allow  your  children  to  play  in  the  street  on 
Sunday,  or  to  play  noisily  in  the  yard. 

10.  Do  not  belong  to  a  corporation  or  own  stock  in  a 
company  which  persistently  violates  the  Sabbath. 

If  all  Christians  would  abstain  from  these  and  similar 
forms  of  Sabbath  desecration,  they  would  not  tempt  others 
to  break  the  Sabbath,  and  their  example  would  have  a 
mighty  influence  in  promoting  its  better  observance.  Many 
kinds  of  Sabbath-breaking  are  sustained  by  the  patronage 
of  professed  Christians ;  other  forms  are  allowed  to  go  on 
because  of  their  silent  approval.  They  have  it  in  their 
power  to  destroy  much  of  it  by  steadily  and  faithfully 
refusing  to  have  any  share  in  it. 

POSITIVE    DUTIES. 

1.  Make  the  better  observance  of  the  Lord's  day  a  sub- 
ject of  prayer  in  private  and  Christian  assemblies. 

2.  Hold  meetings  to  promote  this  object,  of  a  character 
similar  to  the  temperance  meetings. 

3.  Let  these  meetings  request  pastors  to  preach  on  the 
subject  at  stated  times  or  whenever  they  may  se,e  fit.  Pas- 
tors should  give  more  attention  to  the  subject  both  in  their 
private  and  public  ministrations. 

4.  Introduce  in  assemblies,  conferences  and  associatioual 
meetings  resolutions  condemning  current  violations  of  the 
Sabbath,  and  urging  Christians  to  be  faithful  in  its  ob- 
servance. 

5.  Let  churches  discipline  their  members  who  openly 
violate  the  Sabbath. 

(187) 


414  Appendix. 

6.  Let  Sunday-schools  be  so  conducted  as  to  inculcate 
reverence  for  the  day. 

7.  Parents  and  teachers  should  carefully  instruct  the 
young  in  regard  to  the  proper  observance  of  the  Sabbath. 

8.  As  a  means  of  instruction  and  exhortation,  circulate 
the  tracts  furnished  by  the  various  Sabbath  associations. 

9.  Use  your  influence  against  opening  reading-rooms, 
museums,  libraries,  etc.,  on  Sunday. 

10.  If  you  are  an  employer  and  pay  weekly  wages,  make 
Monday  instead  of  Saturday  your  pay  day.  Urge  others 
to  do  the  same. 

11.  Promote  the  Saturday  half-holiday  movement  by 
every  means  in  your  power. 

12.  Take  note  of  any  proposed  violations  of  the  Sabbath 
by  railroads,  steamboat  companies  or  other  corporations, 
and  thwart  them  by  petitions  or  by  appeals  to  the  law. 

13.  Enforce  the  law  on  all  persistent  Sabbath-breakers. 

14.  Watch  against  the  repeal  of  any  but  unwise  Sunday 
laws,  and  be  ready  to  circulate  petitions  to  your  legislature. 

15.  Circulate  petitions  to  Congress  for  the  abolition  of 
the  Sunday  mails. 

16.  Give  all  in  your  employ,  household  servants  as  well 
as  others,  the  greatest  possible  immunity  from  Sunday 
labor. 

17.  Make  a  thoroughly  religious  use  of  the  Lord's 
day  yourself,  attending  religious  services  and  engaging  in 
religious  reading  and  meditation,  and  in  the  exercise  of 
family  religion. 

It  is  said  that  "  eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  liberty." 
We  shall  find  that  it  is  also  the  price  of  our  Sabbath. 


(188) 


INDEX. 


Abbott,  Lyman,  on  the  Sabbath, 
lOS. 

Alford,  Errors  of,  180,  181;  views  of 
Sabbath,  229-232. 

Amos  on  the  Sabbath,  263. 

Ancient  nations.  The  Sabbath  in, 
120. 

Animals,  Domestic,  need  a  Sabbath, 
66,  67. 

"Antinomian"  view  of  the  Sabbath, 
26,  27,  182,  183 ;  criticised,  244- 
248. 

Apostles,  The  authority  of,  186, 187  ; 
example  of  for  change  of  day, 
187-190,  197,  198,  199,  241;  how 
influenced  in  changing  day,  192- 
197;  view  of  Lord's  day,  297. 

Appendix,  394-414. 

Argument,  a  priori,  for  the  Sab- 
bath, 36-44. 

Arnold,  Dr.  Thomas,  quoted,  136. 

Assyria,  The  Sabbath  in  ancient, 
122,  123. 

Atterbury,  Dr.  W.  W.,  quoted,  20. 

Bacon,  Rev.  G.  B.,  quoted,  159;  re- 
ferred to,  185;  quoted  and  crit- 
icised, 236-239. 

Baptists',  Seventh-day,  view  of  the 
Sabbath,  25,  26,  185;  modern 
Judaizers,  217,  222,  223. 

Barnabas,  Epistle  of,  205,  206,  212. 

Bianconi  quoted,  67. 

Bible  record.  Silence  of  early  on 
the  Sabbath,  118,  119. 

Blackstone  quoted,  109,  110. 

Boardman,  Dr.  G.  D.,  referred  to, 
94. 

Body,  Importance  of  caring  for  the, 
45,  47. 

California,  Sunday  laws  of,  20,  408. 
Captivity,  The  Babylonish,  264. 
Carpenter,    Dr.,    referred     to,    59 ; 
quoted,  79. 


Cassius,  Dion,  referred  to,  123. 

Change  of  day,  184-225;  apostolic 
example  for,  187,  188,  189;  grad- 
ual, 189;  Paul  on,  200,  201;  rea- 
sons for,  190-192;  Sabbath  not 
affected  by,  214,  225. 

Cheerfulness  promoted  by  the  Sab- 
bath, 68,  69. 

Children  on  Sunday,  349-353. 

China,  The  Sabbath  in  ancient,  120, 
121. 

Christ  corrects  abuses  of  Sabbath, 
163,  164,  165,  287,  288,  289;  did 
not  repeal  fourth  commandment, 
160-168;  his  method  of  keeping 
the  Sabbath,  166,  167,  168,  291, 
292,  293;  on  the  Sabbath,  163, 
164. 

Christians,  Example  of  post-apos- 
tolic, 203,  204;  kept  holy  the  first 
day,  197,  198,  200;  the  early,  re- 
jected seventh-day  Sabbath,  190, 
191. 

"  Christian-Sabbath  "  view  of  Sab- 
bath, 29,  30. 

Cities,  The  Sabbath  in,  21,  331,  332, 
341,  342. 

Clark,  Dr.  Alonzo,  quoted,  60,  61. 

Cleanliness  promoted  by  Sabbath 
observance,  97,  98. 

Communities,  Influence  of  Sabbath 
on,  106-108. 

Conscience,  Nature  of,  84,  85 ;  uni- 
versality of,  85  ;  our  guide,  311. 

Contractors,  Experiments  of,  in  Sab- 
bath-keeping, 62,  64. 

Cook,  Joseph,  quoted,  94,  388. 

Crafts,  Rev.  W.  F.,  quoted,  103, 
104. 

Diagram;  effect  of  no   Sabbath  on 

man,  396,  397. 
"  Dominical "  view  of  the  Sabbath, 

27,  28 ;  criticised,  240-242. 
Driving  on  Sunday,  22,  345. 


416 


Index. 


Duty,  Our,  respecting  Lord's  day, 
359,  360,  361;  to  God,  361,  362; 
to  our  Redeemer,  362,  363 ;  to  our 
fellow  men,  365-369  ;  to  ourselves, 
369,  372. 

Early  Sabbath  not  abrogated,  136. 

"  Ecclesiastical "  view  of  Sabbath, 
27 ;  criticised,  229-231. 

Eden,  The  Sabbath  in,  117,  118. 

Egypt,  Deliverance  from,  commem- 
orated in  the  Sabbath,  131,  132, 
258,  271. 

Elisha  mentioned,  41. 

Ellicott  quoted,  181. 

Emerson  quoted,  368. 

Epiphanies  of  Christ  on  Sunday, 
193    194. 

Europe,  The  Sabbath  in,  234,  235, 
236. 

Eusebius  quotes  Irena3us,  209. 

Example,  Apostolic,  160. 

Excursions,  Sunday,  21,  22  ;  are  in- 
jurious, 322  J  violate  the  Sabbath, 
321. 

Experience,  what  it  teaches  on  the 
Sabbath,  50,  62-69. 

Ezekiel  on  the  Sabbath,  155,  264, 
265. 

Fairbairn  quoted,  70. 

Family  life.  Influence  of  the  Sab- 
bath on,  99-101,  372,  373. 

Family,  Sunday  in  the,  350-353. 

Farmer,  The,  and  the  Sabbath,  77, 
331. 

Farre,  Dr.  J.  R.,  referred  to,  59,  79. 

Fathers,  The,  testimony  of  to  change 
of  day,  204-213;  testimony  of, 
conclusive,  214;  unanimity  of, 
214. 

Fourth  commandment  an  integral 
part  of  the  decalogue,  141,  142- 
144;  circumstances  of  delivery, 
142,  143,  255,  258  ;  death-penalty 
of  abolished,  300,301,302;  events 
associated  with,  257,  258  :  form  of 
the,  129,  130,  256,  257;'founded 
in  the  nature  of  things,  141,  144- 
146;  frequently  repeated,  257, 
258,  259;  made  important  by 
prophets  and  teachers,  142,  151- 
156;  never  repealed,  157-183; 
not  repealed  by  apostles,  168-183  ; 
part  of  the  moral  law,  137,  141, 


156;  prohibitions  of,  276,  277, 
314;    related   to    highest   duties, 

141,  146-150,  363,  364,  365;  re- 
quires one  seventh  of  the  time, 
214,  215,  216;  severe  penalties  of, 

142,  151,  259,  200,  261;  still 
binding,  228,  229,  241,  242,  243. 
See  Suhbath  and  Lord's  Day. 

France,  its  Sabbath  experiment,  56. 

Free  government.  111,  112;  Sabbath 

necessary  to,  385,  386,  387,  388. 

Gordon,  Mary,  quoted,  103. 
Greeley,  Horace,  quoted,  56. 
Green  Fund,  Books  of,  v. 

Half-holiday,  The  Saturday,  326. 

Hamilton,  Sir  William,  quoted,  71. 

Heathen,  The  testimony  of,  69. 

Heaven  a  place  of  activity,  297. 

Hebrews,  Religion  of,  joyous,  277- 
281 ;  wrong  ideas  of  the  Sabbath, 
284-289. 

Hengstenberg  quoted,  246-248. 

Hessey,  Dr.,  quoted,  157,  158,  196; 
referred  to,  185 ;  quoted  and  crit- 
icised, 240-242. 

Hooker  quoted,  143. 

Horse-cars,  The  Sabbath  and,  20, 
331. 

"  Humanitarian  "  view  of  the  Sab- 
bath, 28,  250,  365,  366  ;  criticised, 
231,  232,  233,  234,  236. 

Humboldt,  William  Von,  quoted,  57, 
58. 

Humphrey,  Dr.,  quoted,  64. 

Idolatry  prevented  by  Sabbath  ob- 
servance, 270,  271. 

Ignatius  quoted,  205. 

Infidel  views  of  the  Sabbath,  25,  96. 

Intellect,  The  human,  dwai-fed  by 
uninterrupted  labor,  73,  74 ;  great- 
ness of,  72;  should  be  cultivated 
in  all,  72,  73;  the  Sabbath  and, 
75-81. 

Intellectual  workers  need  the  Sab- 
bath, 77-81. 

Irenseus  quoted,  208,  209. 

Isaiah  on  the  Sabbath,  152, 153,  263, 
264. 

Jeremiah    on  the  Sabbath,  153-155, 

264. 
Jew,  The,  like  other  men,  42. 


Index. 


417 


Jews,  Intellectual  superiority  of,  in 
Europe,  80;  superior  health  of, 
65,  66. 

Josephus  quoted,  272,  273. 

Judaizers  in  the  early  Church,  176, 

177,  178 ;  some  modern,  222,  223. 

Labor,  Necessity  of,  48;  physical 
exhaustion  of,  48,  49. 

"Labor  question,"  The,  and  the 
Sabbath,  102-104. 

La  Place  quoted,  124. 

Law,  The  ceremonial,  fulfilled,  161, 
169 ;  necessary  to  secure  blessings, 
281,  282;  not  arbitrary,  249,  250; 
not  repealed,  160,  251;  reaffirmed 
by  Christ,  162;  relations  of  Chris- 
tians to,  169-171;  the  apostles  on, 
171-174. 

Laws,  Sunday,  374-385  ;  abstract  of, 
408-410;     desired    by    majority, 

376,  379,  380;  not  inconsistent 
with  personal  liberty,  380,  381 ; 
not  religious  legislation,  375,  376, 
382  ;  promote  public  welfare,  378, 
385,  386 ;  protect  Sabbath-keepers, 

377,  378,  381,  382;  should  be 
preserved  and  enforced,  384,  385. 

Legge,  Dr.  James,  referred  to,  121. 
Le  Normant  quoted,  123,  125. 
Levis,  Dr.  R.  J.,  quoted,  62. 
Lewis,  Tayler,  quoted,  119,  120,  125. 
Liberty,    Christian,    170,   171,   177, 

178,  179,  238,  239,  310,  311. 
Lord's  day.  The,  a  Christian  insti- 
tution, 306,  307;  a  day  of  activ- 
ity, 292,  293,  294;  a  day  of  re- 
joicing, 320 ;  a  memorial  day, 
303,  304;  based  upon  the  fourth 
commandment,  241,  242,  243,  245, 
248,  249,  358,  359;  becomes  the 
Sabbath,  184-225 ;  how  observed 
by  apostles  and  early  Christians, 
297,  298 ;  importance  of,  282,  283, 
308,  309,  359;  Jewish  Sabbath 
contrasted  with,  302-309;  Jewish 
Sabbath  transformed  into  by 
Christ,  287,  288,  289;  kept  holy 
by  early  Christians,  197, 198, 199; 
losing  positions  to  keep,  343,  344; 
motives  for  observing,  299,  300; 
nature  of,  284-309,  357,  358 ;  our 
obligations  respecting,  357-392; 
proper  observance  of,  310-356; 
proper    rest    and    recreation   on, 

27 


344,  345;  reasons  for  observing, 
227-252  ;  rules  for  securing  better 
observance  of,  411-414;  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  304,  305;  things 
allowable  on,  328-345;  things 
prohibited  on,  313-328;  things 
required  on,  345-356 ;  to  be  uni- 
versally observed,  305,  306,  391, 
392;  symbolism  of,  296,  297,  304; 
work  to  be  done  on,  291,  292.  See 
Sabbath;  Fourth  Commandment. 

Love,  Dr.,  quoted,  99,  100. 

Luther,  his  views  of  the  Lord's  day, 
232,  233,  234. 

Maeaulay  quoted,  110,  111. 

Maclareu  quoted,  41. 

Macleod,  Dr.,  quoted,  91. 

Mails,  Sunday,  340,  341. 

Man  a  moral  being,  84,  85  ;  a  relig- 
ious being,  82-84;  a  social  being, 
97;  Bible  method  of  treating,  40, 
41 ;  needs  days  of  rest,  52,  53. 

Manufacturers,  Experiments  of,  in 
Sabbath-keeping,  62. 

Martyr,  Justin,  quoted,  207,  208, 212. 

Massachusetts  report  on  Sunday 
labor,  410,  411. 

Meditation,  Religious,  355. 

Mill,  J.  S.,  quoted,  102. 

Mill- owners.  Experiments  of,  in 
Sabbath-keeping,  62,  63,  64,  65. 

Montalembert  quoted,  91,  388,  389. 

Moral  influence  of  Sabbath,  92,  93. 

Moral  training  impossible  without 
Sabbath,  93,  95 ;  necessity  of,  85, 
86. 

Munich,  Experiments  at,  53. 

Nation,  Our,  character  of,  not  fixed, 

19;  Christian  and  Protestant,  383, 

384. 
National    prosperity,    influence    of 

Sabbath-keeping     on,    108,    112, 

388,  389,  390,  391. 
Nature,  Constitution  of,  50,  51,  52; 

moral  law  in,  144—146. 
Neander  quoted,  190,  204,  211. 
Necessity,    False   pretences    of,   in 

Sunday  work,  331-343  ;  works  of, 

allowable  on  Sunday,  228, 329,  330. 
Nehemiah  on  the  Sabbath,  265,  266, 

267,  314. 
Newspapers,  Sunday,  20,  332,  333- 

336. 


418 


Index. 


Niemeyer,  Dr.  Paul,  quoted,  60. 

Obedience,    not   legalism,  251,  252; 

secures  divine  blessings,  271,  272, 

370,  371,  372. 
Opinions,  Various,  on  the  Sabbath, 

24-30. 
Oxygen    exhausted    by    labor,   53; 

means  of  restoring,  54. 

Paley  quoted,  116;  view  of  the 
Sabbath,  117. 

Patriarchal  Sabbath,  The,  118,  120 ; 
nature  of,  134. 

Patriotism  a  virtue,  373,  374. 

Paul  on  the  law,  169,  170,  171,  172, 
173;  on  Sabbath  observance,  174, 
175,  176,  178,  179,  180,  181,  182. 

Penalty,  151. 

Pentecostal  baptism  on  Sunday,  195, 
196,  197. 

Pepper,  Dr.  William,  quoted,  61,  62. 

Periodicity,  General  law  of,  50,  51; 
applies  especially  to  man,  50,  51. 

Physicians,  Testimony  of,  60,  69-62. 

Philo  quoted,  126. 

Pleasure-seeking,  Sunday,  deprives 
others  of  Sabbath,  326,  327;  injuri- 
ous, 323,  324;  prohibited,  319-328 

Pliny's  letter  to  Trajan,  206,  207. 

Precepts,  Positive,  138;  moral,  139, 
140. 

Premium,  One  thousand  dollars,  etc., 
vii. 

Primitive  Sabbath  on  Sunday,  216, 
217. 

Proudhon  quoted,  58, 

Pulpit,  Intellectual  advantages  of 
instruction  from,  75,  76;  and  in- 
struction in  morals,  94. 

Question,  The  Sabbath,  stated,  17; 
a  living  question,  19 ;  importance 
of,  18,  19;  literature  of,  393-395. 

Rabbi,  A  Hebrew,  quoted,  221,  222. 
Rabbis,  The    puerile   rules  of,  285, 

286. 
Railroading,  Sunday,  20,  336-348. 
Reading,  Religious,  354,  355. 
Reformers,  their  view  of  the  Lord's 

day,  232-234. 
Religion,    Existence    of,  dependent 

on   the   Sabbath,  91,  95,  96,  367, 

368 ;  and  morality  inseparable,  86. 


Religious  feeling,  The,  strength  of, 
82,  83;  man's  chief  glory,  87,  88; 
universality  of,  81,  84. 

Religious  training  impossible  with- 
out the  Sabbath,  89-96;  necessity 
of,  89;  opportunity  for  on  the 
Sabbath,  148,  149. 

Repair,  Means  of,  50. 

Rest  aflorded  by  Sabbath,  55; 
change  of  occupation  the  truest, 
295,  296;  necessity  of,  50,  52; 
Jewish  Sabbath  as  a  day  of,  268, 
269,  270. 

Rest-days,  how  frequent,  55,  58. 

Resurrection  of  Christ,  192,  193. 

Revelation,  Necessity  of,  36;  proof 
of,  36,  37. 

Riddle,  Dr.,  referred  to,  181. 

Robertson,  F.  W.,  referred  to,  93, 
185;  quoted,  158,  169;  quoted 
and  criticised,  244,  245. 

Romanists  and  the  Sabbath,  27,  66. 

Sabbath,  The,  better  doctrine  of 
needed,  30,  31,  235;  books  on, 
393-395;  commemorates  creation, 
147,  257;  definition  of,  44;  des- 
ecration of,  increasing,  20-23,  30; 
divine  origin  of  proved,  35-44; 
early  institution  of,  115-136;  first 
mention  of,  117;  for  all  men,  40- 
43,  115-225,  135,  136,  149,  150; 
friends  of  divided,  23-30;  gen- 
eral law  of,  312;  good  for  all,  44, 
250,  251;  human  intellect  and, 
71-81;  its  claim  for  recognition, 
18;  keeps  alive  knowledge  of 
God,  147,  148;  love  to  Christ  a 
reason  for  keeping,  28,  236-239; 
man's  social  welfare  and,  97-113; 
meaning  of  the  word,  129 ;  morals 
and,  92-95 ;  nature  of  the  early, 
133-135;  necessity  of,  36-113, 
246;  perpetual  obligation  of,  227, 
228;  physical  advantages  of,  46- 
70,  397;  prophets  and  reformers 
on,  151-156,  263-267;  purposes 
of,  146-149;  relation  of,  to  relig- 
ion and  morals,  82-96;  Scripture 
texts  relating  to,  398-408;  secur- 
ity of,  31;  suggestions  of,  90; 
symbolism  of,  268,  269,  270;  the 
Scripture  on,  398-408.  See  Lord's 
Day  and  Fourth  Commandment. 

Sabbath,  The    Jewish,  253-272,-   a 


Index. 


419 


day  of  rejoicing,  277-281 ;  a  day 
of  worship,  273,  274,  275,  277;  as 
a  day  .of  rest,  268,  270;  import- 
ance of,  254-267  ;  instruction 
given  on,  272,  273,  277;  nature 
of,  276-281 ;  relation  of  to  He- 
brew religion,  270-272;  work 
prohibited  on,  276,  277. 

**  Sabbath  Kest,"  Experiment  at,  62, 
63. 

Sabbaths,  Two,  not  required,  201, 
204. 

Sayce.  Rev.  A.  H.,  quoted,  122,  123. 

Schaff,  Dr.  Philip,  quoted,  195,  235, 
236,  390,  391. 

Scripture  texts  on  Sabbath,  398-408. 

Seven,  Sacredness  of  the  number, 
125;  among  the  Chaldeo-Baby- 
lonians,  125,  126;  among  the  He- 
brews, 126  ;  origin  of,  126,  127. 

Seventh-day  Sabbath,  184. 

Smith,  Adam,  quoted,  109. 

Smith,  George,  referred  to,  122. 

Social  distinctions  and  the  Sabbath, 
101,  102. 

Social  duties  and  the  Sabbath,  104, 
106. 

Social  refinement  promoted  by  Sab- 
bath, 98. 

Spencer,  Herbert,  referred  to,  85. 

Sports  on  Sunday,  22. 

Spring,  Dr.,  quoted,  76. 

Standard,  The  London,  quoted,  78. 

Steamboat  companies,  The  Sabbath 
and,  20, 

Study  on  the  Sabbath,  75. 

Sunday  observance,  etc.,  see  Lord's 
Day. 

Talbot,  W.  Fox,  referred  to,  122. 


Talmud,  Sabbath  teaching  of,  284- 

287. 
"  Teaching  of  the  apostles,"  207. 
Tertuliian  quoted,  210,  211,  213. 
Theatres,  Sunday,  21,  321. 
Toronto,  The  Sabbath  in,  340,  341. 
Trade,  Sunday,  21. 

Virgil  quoted,  23. 
Voltaire  quoted,  96. 

Waddy,  S.  D.,  quoted,  104. 

Washburn,  Rev.  G.  T.,  quoted.  111. 

Waste  and  repair.  Law  of,  49. 

Week,  The,  among  ancient  nations, 
120,  127;  antiquity  of,  124;  men- 
tioned in  Genesis,  119,  120;  not 
astronomical,  124,  125. 

West,  Sunday  in  the,  21,  22. 

Wilberforce  quoted,  78,  79. 

Wilderness,  Sabbath  in  the,  127- 
129. 

Wilkie,  Sir  David,  quoted,  78. 

Work,  The  present,  purpose  of,  31, 
32 ;  plan  of,*  32-34. 

Work,  Secular,  prohibited  on  the 
Lord's  day,  314-318,  319. 

Works  required  on  Lord's  day.  Re- 
ligious, 348-353;  of  mercy,  353, 
354. 

Working  men  and  the  Sabbath,  103, 
104. 

Worship,  Universality  of,  83. 

Worship,  Public,  impossible  with- 
out the  Sabbath,  91,  92,  364;  need 
of,  91,  274;  work  involved  by, 
allowable  on  Sunday,  344;  re- 
quired on  Lord's  day,  346,  347, 
348. 


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